TrueHeart
by truephan
Summary: After PP. Nothing can break Danny and Sam’s love for each other except when Penelope Spectra arranges for them to do it themselves. DxS, TxV, OCs
1. Chapter 1 Our Two Human Couples

**A/N: Well, is it that time already for another story? Wow! And I hope you were able to peek at my past stories. Maybe you should give them a looksey, especially "His Own Worst Enemy" and "Shadow of a Doubt". They are WAY too complicated to explain here, and tie in most closely with this story. Also, since all my stories tie into each other over all, it wouldn't hurt for you to read "Bewerewulfed", too….Heck, just look at them all! But, if you don't want to, that's OK, but you may be lost by some of the allusions to those stories in THIS story if you haven't read the others (like Danny has wulf claws now and Sam and Danny have telepathic powers). So, if you do get confused, don't fret. Just pretend you read those other stories and accept any 'fact' you don't know about as 'true' and you'll be fine! **

**Now about THIS story…It's another try with romance for me. I'm still not great with it, but I do want to improve my writing, so I'm going to try anyway…Guess I'm braver than I thought! Also, I thought Jazz said it best, and I quote her with my own little tweaking: (taken from "Maternal Instinct") "Look, I figure I owe it to myself to experience all this serious romance stuff one time, so I can decide whether to hate or love it in a more informed content." So, y'all need to decide for yourselves. But don't worry. There will be a little humor and action in it (I can't help myself), but, overall, it will be more about the serious side of relationships. But it will definitely be in good taste—which is **_**true **_**romance, IMO. **

**Also, this is sorta a sequel to "Shadow of a Doubt", but not really. It may seem that way, but really, all stories that build upon past ones could be considered 'sequels', but I rather think of them as 'continuals' instead. Others call it a serial. Well, whatever, to-MAY-toe, to-MAH-toe! As long as we all have fun, right? But, please, do try to be fair to this story if you've read my other ones. Comparing this story to my other ones is like the old cliché of comparing apples to oranges….. **

**Now one more thing before we dive in…I would like to thank my good friend, Angelus-alvus, for giving me the 'green light' for the summary; and I thank Aaron12 and pearl84 for their immense and priceless betaing help.**

**Now, on with the story. I dedicate this entire story and this chapter to my good friend, Nicktendo Squad, who happens to be celebrating her birthday today, and who happens to LOVE romance stories!!! YAY!!! Happy Birthday, my friend!! **

**OH, and remember that I do NOT own any character except the four OCs in here, and will mantra that "IDNOAC" (I do not own any characters) from now on at the beginning of each chapter.…….Now, here is Chapter 1. Enjoy!!!**

TrueHeart

(A Yank on the Old Heartstrings)

Chapter 1—Our Two Human Couples

The soft moonlight reflected off his green eyes, giving them a slightly grayish tint. But they still sparkled nevertheless and she still thought they were handsome no matter the color. The soft whispers of the wind caressed her thoughts and matched his calm breathing.

Sam let her mind drift a little and relaxed under the wind's balmy blanket as it enveloped Danny and her, hovering together high up in the quiet sky. It would grow colder soon, she knew, and that would mean that they would have to go in. But feeling his strong, warm arms around her calmed her beyond words; and it was one of those rare moments when Sam believed that everything was truly right with the world. If this wasn't heaven, she didn't know what could be.

Blissful, her eyes closed and their lips softly met.

At that moment, she was traveling through space without the need for oxygen and seeing the bright gems of the heavens winking at her. Suddenly, she had landed on a beautiful alien world, whole universes away from where they had been just seconds ago. She knew they were all alone there, strolling down an alien pathway that led to a secluded yet exotic garden. This felt like heaven, too. But then, any place where she had the chance to be close to Danny felt that way.

"Nice choice of location," she whispered as they momentarily parted.

"Hey!" Danny suddenly objected as he realized Sam had just read his mind again, and had 'seen' what he was imagining. But then he chuckled right away to assure her he wasn't mad. "OK, so now you know one of the places I would most want to be with you! Are you sure having this telepathic thing isn't a dangerous thing after all? I might have been thinking about something totally different!"

"Like what?" she teased, playing with the back of his head with both of her hands.

"Oh, I don't know, like thinking about all the chores I need to do when I get home."

"Oh gee, I'm not **boring** you, am I?!" she feigned in irritation while sliding her hands down and playfully shoving him away. Still, she took care not to shove so hard that he would lose his grip on her.

"Why don't you try again and find out," Danny responded with a warm smile as he leaned in and kissed her again.

Again, he saw Sam in his mind; but this time, he was purposefully concentrating and changing the stream of his thoughts. Suddenly, he was blending into a scene with a crystal clear lagoon catching a waterfall as it sang its sweet song to the rocks below. Trees and all kinds of shrubbery reached out to engulf the entire small area, shielding its soft, white beach with their outstretched swaying arms, keeping the beach hidden by all except for the warm sun. He knew this is where _she_ would most want to be with him. Just then, he mentally winked at her, extending the mop and bucket in his hands towards her as he did.

Instantly, she pulled away. "OK, OK! I get it!" Sam conceded, "Reading minds, good. Reading minds without permission, bad."

"So, do you think we should ask Spirto about how to block each other's thoughts perfectly?" Danny teased.

"Naw. I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, we know that strong emotions can block the connection," Sam replied, "Besides, we both still haven't gotten our feet too wet with it and it still doesn't work perfectly yet."

Danny knew his girlfriend was right. And, furthermore, they both knew that they had to be thinking about the other at the same time. Or at least have an open mind to it.

"Still, I just hope it **does **work if there's an emergency," Sam added, bringing Danny out of thought.

"Well, at least it'll be better than that lame 'code word'!" Danny said jokingly, drawing a smirk from Sam.

"Excuse me? 'Lame'? Do I have to remind you that I wouldn't even be here right now if it wasn't for that word? And I kind of like being here right now. Especially on a night like this," she argued lightly, following up with a light peck. "But I get what you're saying. It's too easy for us to go diving into each others' heads. But you know I wouldn't do that for no reason, right?"

"Just as long as **you **remember that. The last thing I need is you catching a stray thought like oh, say...that I'd rather play video games than be here," Danny teased.

"Nice!" Sam responded with another playful shove. But this time, she accidentally pushed harder than they both thought and she yelped when he lost his grip of her momentarily. Luckily, Danny was quick to react as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards him.

"Let's not do that again anytime soon, OK?" he suggested.

"Works for me," Sam replied, her heart still racing as she clung to him tightly. But a few well placed kisses on her cheek from Danny quickly began to calm her down. She turned and softly kissed him again before pulling back and looking into his eyes with a warm smile.

As Danny smiled back at her, Sam didn't need to be able to read his mind to tell that in spite of his previous joke, he'd rather be here with her than anywhere else. But soon, it was time for them to go and they both knew it.

As they flew back toward her home, Sam sighed at the memory of their last adventure. It had only been about a month since she had acquired this special telepathic link with her boyfriend. Clockwork said she always had the ability, and now that she thought about it, he had been right. But then, she didn't realize how it had helped her so much since the Spectre event. It now kept any arguments between Danny and her on a more even keel. And she was finding it easier to express herself nowadays.

She was quite content in her—and Danny's—decision that this special gift between them was _not_ to be abused--not that she ever had. The only time she used it without his direct consent was when she felt it was important to do so, or if she really had no idea what he meant during an argument…

She then mentally sighed as her thoughts drifted to something else, or more precisely, someone else. She thought she would miss Libro —the book Clockwork had given her just before the Poisoned Ghost War—more than she had. But with this new bond between her and Danny, she hadn't needed her special friend. She felt a sudden twinge of guilt about that, but underneath, she knew that Libro would understand. She chuckled a bit. She meant _Ombre_, but she still liked calling him 'Libro'...Besides, she knew that he didn't mind her—or Danny and Tucker--calling him that, either.

So, it didn't matter. They would always be friends, even though right now, Libro was still recuperating at Clockwork's. The injury he had received from Jiva was so severe that only Clockwork could heal him. She—and Danny and Tucker, of course--had visited him a lot since the Spectre adventure, as Danny would always take them whenever he visited Clockwork.

Still, if it weren't for Libro, she would have never learned _how_ to work through her feelings and open herself up to her friends more. Of course, she was still working hard on achieving this day-by-day, since it wasn't easy for her. But she had learned a valuable lesson, and now knew she was strong enough to grow beyond her weakness. Yes, Libro had done a lot for her… and so had her boyfriend.

And now that she had her telepathic powers, it opened the possibility of getting even closer to Danny than she was before. She had to smile at that. Nothing was impossible any more.

Danny was also pleased with this new bond between them. Even though he finally realized how special their relationship was after the 'disasteroid' incident, he never dreamed it could be better. Knowing he could depend on Sam's understanding really was a confidence booster and even though he always felt he could say just about anything to her before, he knew that now they would not always need words to understand each other…

Finally, they had reached Sam's home. A quick goodnight kiss later and Sam walked back into her house, with Danny flying off a moment later. They still might not have been able to say it out loud all the time yet, but one thing they both knew with absolute certainty…they were definitely falling more deeply in love with each passing day.

However, they were both so lost in their own feelings as they parted company that neither one of them noticed a pair of eyes gazing at them through the darkness of a nearby alley…

* * *

Tucker waited at their usual rendezvous point. Valerie was late—again. Of course, he knew why, but this time he was finding himself strangely irritated, which surprised him a little. He could feel that something was different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Looking up at the moon and stars, he searched for her high and low, but the sky was still empty of any trace of her coming. And for a moment, he wondered if he should wait a little longer, or go home.

He knew that she had "extra work" to attend to, and even though she had never explained exactly what that was; he knew it meant that she was ghost-hunting. But he was beginning to wonder if their relationship had reached the point where she should trust him more. At least, that was what he was beginning to feel. But thinking like that, it made him wonder if _he_ really trusted her as much as he should. And that just made him feel wrong inside.

Finally, he could hear the familiar sound of her hover board approaching and he turned away, pretending like he always did that he never noticed it, or that she was changing out of her 'Red Huntress' outfit. And a moment later she was running up to him, all out of breath—as usual.

"I'm sorry, Tucker," she said, trying to catch her breath.

Of course, Tucker knew this 'one-act' play of theirs as if they had been rehearsing for years, so he already knew what his "next line" was supposed to be.

"That's OK, Val. Did you get your 'extra work' done?"

And then, _of course_, she would say, "Yeah, but, boy, am I beat! Mind if we just unwind a little tonight? I don't feel like doing anything but just being with you!"

And then he would say, "Sure." And then they would sit quietly in the park and she would fall asleep on the bench…..

………………

Of course, this wouldn't happen on **all** their dates, but it did occur during enough of them for Tucker to know the routine. Still, it usually didn't bother him too much. After all, they hadn't been dating all that long, not even a year. But did that really count as a year when their dates had been so sporadic? Between both of their separate ghost-hunting adventures, they really hadn't the time for steady dating, and neither of them wanted to feel particularly committed to anyone right now because they both had their "extra work".

Still, the times they did connect enough to _really_ call it a 'date' were exciting. They discovered during those times that both of them had more things in common than the other thought. Besides having a secret, of course, they both liked history, especially family history; both loved technology and often times traded ideas--even if Valerie didn't tell Tucker that her ideas came from all the options on her battle suit, or what she had modified on the suit herself. And both of them liked all the crazy rides at the pier or any other carnival place that would roll into town every once in a while. They were slowly discovering each other, even if it had to be in bits and pieces.

Even their serious conversations, which were really, again, sporadic, were enthralling. Valerie was very passionate about her views and Tucker was only the second boy she had dated that had been such a willing listener. Most of the other boys had been turned off by how strong she came across. But Tucker recognized the intelligence beneath the passion, and acted accordingly.

Even when he disagreed with her, his answers never riled her up any more than she had been at the start. He was a calming force to her and helped her when all her pent-up frustrations---which were many—got the best of her. She even liked the fact that he didn't seem to mind it when she kidded him about his 'nerdiness'; because through it all she hadn't realize that she appreciated his intelligence as well. And his patience with her.

She then smiled, thinking of two other pluses her boyfriend had: he sure was cute and funny. How did she not notice him before in school? He seemed so much older this year. Not the goofball who went gaga over her and every other girl in the school not too long ago.

He had changed; but, of course, she couldn't possibly have known that it was due to all he had experienced within the past year…

The Spectre mystery was just the most recent event. Tucker and his friends had been through even more before then. That would have been the Poisoned Ghost War, which ended with the time rift that occurred after Danny had fought with his future alternate self over Clockwork's staff. And it further resulted in big changes for the trio. While mentally they were sixteen-and-a-half-year-old juniors now --since their minds had not been affected by the time rift-- the current timeline insisted they were still sophomores, and would not be physically turning sixteen until this summer.

And so, Valerie was right in a way. Tucker had changed because he _was_ older. And he had changed for the better, or so Valerie noticed. She liked this '_new'_ Tucker.

Tucker, on the other hand, enjoyed Valerie's vivacity. Not that he needed more excitement. Being with Danny and Sam and going on all those adventures with them, of course, trumped anything else as far as excitement went. But this, of course, was far different.

He started out wanting to keep Valerie from becoming like her bitter future self. He had really felt sorry for her, and was willing to put up with all her rants because of it. But as she began to feel more at ease with him, and was even surprised that she hadn't driven him away with her strong personality or her erratic schedule, she let some of her softer side eke out. And, man, did Tucker like that 'softer side'! He always thought she was hot, but when that was paired with a side he could actually reach and even relate to, she was even more captivating to him.....

…………………….

So, their 'one-act play' would have to go on until they thought it was time for a change. And for the time being, Tucker was fine with that. Little did he realize, however, that Valerie was about to drastically re-write the script….

"That's OK, Val," he stated as usual, "Did you get your 'extra work' done?"

She sat down on their park bench and replied, "Yeah, but, you know, I've been thinking. You never complain when I see you after a particularly rough time with all that 'extra work' I have to do. How about I make it up to you for all those times I was too tired to do anything?"

"Uh, that's all right, Valerie. I understand," he answered after he, too, sat down. "I don't mind that we 'don't do anything' on those days. All the other times make up for it."

She smiled, but was not satisfied by his answer. It was nice that he was offering her an out, but she knew deep down that it was one she didn't really deserve.

"Aw, c'mon, Tucker. Don't tell me that it's not irritating to have me coming late all the time and then fall asleep on you!"

"Well, yeah, now that you mention it, I was kinda irritated this time!" He paused, surprised by his answer. He suddenly knew why he was irritated. His feelings for her were changing. He no longer felt sorry for her like he had done in the beginning. Now, he wanted to see more of her, but still couldn't because of her 'extra work'. And, of course, because of his own 'extra work' with Danny and Sam. But he didn't want to get into that. Not now. So instead, he followed up with a light-hearted smirk, which he hoped would be enough to hide his true feelings.

"But, I'm not _that_ irritated," he added quickly, "Like I said, I understand. After all, I know_ I_ can get irritating when I go on and on about video games."

"Well…I'll go with you on that one!" she teased back. "But I want to do something special anyhow! You know that my birthday's coming up!"

Responding immediately, Tucker whipped out his PDA and started pressing buttons.

Valerie immediately rolled her eyes in amusement. "Do you really need that thing to remember that my birthday is two weeks from Friday?" she teased, causing Tucker to respond with a shy look.

"No, of course, I don't! But you know how much I think of this PDA as my 'third arm'!" he answered, drawing a laugh out of Valerie.

"OK, fine," she conceded with a warm smile, "But you'd better be ready for a surprise at my party!"

"Uh, shouldn't that be the other way around? Aren't surprise parties supposed to be _for_ the birthday person?"

"Yeah, but this time it's my surprise to you!" she replied, "But it's not JUST for you! I'm just going to invite you and Danny, and even Sam! After all, I know they are like your 'fourth and fifth arms'! And I really don't have any other friends anymore, ever since, well, you know."

Tucker secretly cringed. That was still a sore point with her. Danny Phantom.

She laughed with embarrassment as she continued to talk about his friends. "I have to admit that I had some problems with them in the beginning, but I had no right to hold it over you in the end. I guess I was a little jealous, since they've been your best friends forever. That you're all always there for each other, but you're still so laid back together. It's kinda strange nowadays, but, really, I think you're very lucky to have them."

"Well, you're right about that," Tucker agreed with a smile and a shrug, "They are the best! I'm just glad you're beginning to see that!"

"And you know what I think about Danny and that it's not a problem, either," Valerie added, "Especially since he's so obviously into Sam. Not that that's a surprise, either. I guess I always knew they were perfect for each other."

Tucker smiled. Valerie didn't know the half of it now that Danny and Sam had telepathic powers! But he was surprised how relieved he was that she said that. He never thought it was a problem, but he was still glad he heard it from her for the first time.

"Yeah, I always thought that they were perfect for each other, too," he replied, but suddenly, he paused. Were he and Valerie 'perfect' for each other as well? Too skittish to speak, he absent-mindedly—and nervously-- starting to punch on his PDA. But just then, he heard Valerie let out a deep yawn.

"Boy, all of the sudden I'm beat!" she groaned slightly, "You know, it sure is good to unwind with you!"

"Uh, sure, Val--.." he began, looking up from his PDA at her. But then he stopped and smirked weakly.

She had fallen asleep.


	2. Chapter 2 The Two Ghost Couples

**A/N: Well, how is it so far? Hope you're liking it! Anyhow, here comes Chapter 2 at you! And , IDNOAC; well, except for the two new ghosts here, who are totally MINE! Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 2—The Two Ghost Couples

Meanwhile, in a far part of the Ghost Zone, a strange-looking pair of young ghosts frolicked, seemingly not having a care for anyone else who might be around. They obviously were enjoying each other's company even though any observer would think them a certainly odd couple. That's because the two ghosts were animals, and one was a female black dove while the other was a male black lynx.

The dove flitted around the wildcat as they traveled onward, sometimes flying close enough to whisper something in his ear. They would then laugh as two young people would before the lynx playfully swatted her away. Afterwards, they would continue on, but eventually, the bird would repeat her same tease, landing on top of the lynx's head, who would laugh in delight as she softly pecked his ear.

But soon, their playful banter slowed to a stop; and the two continued to glide onward in silence—the dove perched on top of the swifter lynx's head. They stayed lost in their own thoughts as they traveled. They were far from caring what anyone else would think about their being together, or what they would think about their both being able to talk—something no other ghost animal in the Ghost Zone was capable of doing. Of course to them, there was nothing strange about it. This unnatural state of being was as natural to them as breathing for a normal person.

Normal…actually, either one of them would give just about **anything** to be normal again.

Still, they did their best to carry on, even though they were banished to their endless wanderings. All the ghosts in the Ghost Zone would ultimately reject them when they discovered that the two could speak. The other—_human-_ghosts just knew that something must be terribly wrong with these two ghost animals for that to be possible. So, the odd ghost couple was forced to continue on their endless search for a peace they thought they could never obtain; yet, strangely, and at the same time, they still longed to see if any good could ever come from their sorrow.

Over time, they had learned to keep to themselves and avoid anyone who might happen to ask questions. But secretly, their hearts were growing heavier with despair, aching to end the misery they bore so unjustly.

"Hmmm," the lynx uttered thoughtfully, slowing to a stop for a moment to look around.

"What is it?" the dove cooed in response. Since the dove was still resting on his head, she didn't mind at all that he had halted. Still, she was curious about why.

"We are new to this part of the Ghost Zone," the lynx replied, "Did you notice something odd about it?"

"No. You know that it is all the same to me, as it has been these many centuries," the dove quietly replied, her voice suddenly becoming quite somber.

"In many ways, that is true," the wildcat agreed. "But I notice more dwellings here. There must be many more ghosts that stay in this area. With such a large population, it might be possible for us to pass unnoticed. Perhaps here, we can finally be at peace."

The lynx seemed cautiously optimistic as he spoke, but his feathered companion didn't answer him right away. In fact, she actually found herself fighting back the tears that she had long thought she could not shed anymore.

"Perhaps," she was finally able to utter, thankful that he could not see her eyes. If he did, she just knew he would quickly melt right into the despair within which she suddenly felt blanketed.

The lynx, meanwhile, nodded in response, but upon noting the slight crack in the dove's voice, paused with worry. After so many years of depending only on each other, they had an uncanny sense of understanding each other's moods and nuances. He could feel her despair, as well as the frustration that accompanied it. Feelings he understood all too well. After all, he, too, was weary of this grief that haunted them.

"Take heart, my love," he stated, trying to be the rock she could lean on at this moment. "Our time will come someday. But we must remain strong."

Just then, a quiet laugh could be heard from on top of his head, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. A moment later, the dove fluttered down and turned towards him, no longer afraid to look him in the eyes. After all, she should have realized by now that he would have known what she was thinking. And hearing his comforting words put her heart somewhat more at ease.

"Forgive me, darling. Everything is fine now," she spoke gently, her emerald eyes capturing his auburn ones.

Nodding in reply, the lynx simply leaned in and gently pressed his forehead to hers. In truth, after all this time, it was her hurt feelings that caused him more pain than his own.

"You know that I would never have been able to endure this condition without you," he stated as they savored their touch for just a moment longer before finally pulling away. Looking into each others' eyes once again, they were reminded that after all they had endured, they only really had two things left: each other…and hope. If either one of those precious things slipped through their grasp, they knew they would truly be lost. And so, all they could do was face each day as it came, have the strength to simply see that day through, and let tomorrow take care of itself.

"So, then, shall we try to find a haven?" the ebony dove asked encouragingly. After all the years of their situation, they had taken turns cheering the other up at any particular time. And now it was her turn to shed her self-pity and become the rock for him to lean on. After all, it was becoming more and more difficult for him to remain hopeful. She didn't like the change in him, but was glad she could still help him with it. She could tell he had smiled by the movement of his ears, and with that, she let out a tiny sigh of relief.

"Yes, I do agree, and thank you. But let us be cautious and not speak to others until we are sure among whom we might dwell. I do not think I can take being rejected again before we can find our haven. Do you not agree?"

"I agree, beloved. And I will not speak until we both think it is the right time. I do want to find a place where we do not have to wander anymore!"

"Well, there do seem to be quite a few locations here from which to choose. I am sure we will find a suitable one," the black lynx replied. He continued onward with the ebony dove on his back; before long, they approached still another lair that was occupied. But they weren't discouraged yet. Seeing how bright that dwelling place was, and feeling more light-hearted after the dove's encouragement, the lynx let out a slight laugh.

"It looks like such a lively place just ahead. There might even be a celebration," he spoke over his shoulder, "Should we see if they would invite us?"

"Oh, we could not possibly," the dove jokingly replied with a soft giggle, "We do not have the proper dress for it!"

"Well, perhaps it is an informal affair," he chuckled back as the pair continued onward, passing the dwelling as the echoes of their laugh died. But little did either of the young lovers know that those ghosts who were now within that nearing lair would change their afterlives forever...

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It had been a long, long time since Penelope Spectra had been able to adequately maintain her youth. The 'ghost mosquito' trick hadn't worked out and neither had her direct approach to 'therapy' for the students at Casper High. Not that she had stopped trying, but she and Bertrand had always been quickly thwarted either by Danny Phantom or the Red Huntress whenever they tried to infiltrate the Real World with their numerous plans to keep Spectra beautiful.

It took what seemed like forever to finally find a method to keep her human form looking young and it turned out to be in the Ghost Zone of all places. Still, she had been searching for so long for the perfect remedy that she had totally lost touch with events in the Real World. She had no way of knowing that Danny and Sam were now a couple or that Tucker and Valerie were also dating.

But even though her new-found method had been successful while it lasted, it was becoming harder and harder for her…well, really, for Bertrand…to sneak into Pandora's Maze. And more importantly, to get out before that ghost could discover that they had been siphoning water from Pandora's Fountain of Youth. In fact, Bertrand was still smarting from his last encounter with that menacing Minotaur, whose hoof print was still quite evident on an unmentionable part of his person. He just knew that the Minotaur would alert Pandora of their happenstance meeting and she would discover the truth. So, he was definitely in no hurry to return, no matter what ruse Spectra threatened to use on him.

Now that the last bit of water from Pandora's fountain was dwindling, and Bertrand's willingness to replenish it was dwindling even more, Spectra was feeling the pressure of venturing back into the Real World getting to her with each passing day. She just _needed_ to find a substitute way of meeting her needs. But if she was going to resort to this tactic again, she would have to be much more careful and find out how Danny Phantom had suddenly become so much more adept at ruining all her plans. So there was really only one thing to do…she sent Bertrand to go spy on him.

No sooner said than done, and Bertrand had gotten some very useful information. In fact, just as the animal ghost couple outside was discussing their latest plans to find some kind of sanctuary, Bertrand had just returned to Spectra's lair with his findings about the Ghost Boy….

"You are never going to believe it, Spectra!" her assistant excitedly said, still huffing and sweating from the exertion from his hurrying to return with this juicy piece of gossip. "The Ghost Kid is actually dating that little goth girl sidekick of his!"

"What, are you **kidding**?" Spectra said, her eyes widening in disbelief. "How did I miss _that_?"

"Well, _we've _been too busy stealing serum from Pandora, haven't _we_?" Bertrand mentioned sarcastically, still wincing occasionally from the throbbing pain he had gotten from his last encounter with Pandora's Minotaur. "And the Ghost Kid's been very good at kicking us both back here whenever we've tried to invade his turf lately. Although quite honestly, Penelope, _you_ haven't exactly been too stealth-like when we tried all that time or else we would've known sooner!"

"Just keep it up," Spectra muttered through gritted teeth, her hand starting to blaze with its purple ghostly fire.

Bertrand cringed a bit and Spectra extinguished her energy orb. "Anyway," Bertrand continued, changing the subject, "since I finally had the opportunity to pursue the matter myself, I managed to hang around and eavesdrop on the kid and his girl."

Pausing for a moment, Bertrand emphasized his point by turning himself into a little green ghost fly.

"Ewew, Bertrand, you know I hate bugs!" Penelope said, scrunching her face up in disgust and reflexively shooing him away.

"Oh, please," Bertrand uttered in his little fly voice, rolling all of his multiple bug eyes before continuing on, "You certainly didn't have trouble using them before."

She frowned in irritation and uttered, "That's because they're mindless drones that will do my total bidding!"

All of his bug eyes bugged out at the look she gave him. He certainly was **no** drone! He cleared his throat in indignation and replied, "Anyhow, at first, I had a hard time finding the Ghost Kid being this small, and when I finally did, there was no wall to attach myself to, but I'm quite proud to announce that I was still able to get this hot news. And I was able to follow them for quite some time. And, by the way, there's a bonus to it all, too! The Ghost Kid's geeky friend is also dating some girl as well."

He didn't know that Valerie was the Red Huntress, but that didn't concern him right now. He returned to his human form before giving Spectra all the minute details of bugging the human couples' moments. She was a little creeped out by his exact details, as if he relished spying on both of the human couples' privacy

"OK, you need to get some professional help, Bertrand," she finally managed to say, feeling a little sick about his behavior. But she swallowed it down and added, "So. You got that close, huh? And just how did he _not_ notice you were there?"

"Oh, but that's one of the best parts," Bertrand replied with a smug grin, "On one of _my_ many trips to Pandora's realm, I found this really neat plant whose nectar could actually mask my signature. Of course, it didn't work right away. I had to find the proper dosage to make it effective. Took me quite a few bumps and bruises from the Ghost Kid before I found the right amount to use. But now, there's no problem."

"Is that so, huh?" Spectra replied thoughtfully. She really didn't care about asking about the details of what her assistant had just said. She was just wondering how she could use this to her advantage.

"Oh, it's so," Bertrand added with the same smug smile. "And like I said, it seems that the Ghost Kid is pretty happy right now."

"Oh, he is, is he? Well, I think it's time someone sank his little love boat, don't you?" Spectra suggested. "And we can't have that little detail messing up our plans, now can we?"

Bertrand only replied with a dark chuckle as he and Spectra exchanged wicked grins, and nodded in agreement.


	3. Chapter 3 Hatching Plans

**A/N: Well, how goes it? Thanks for all your comments and I, of course, want more!! And you just **_**knew**_** this was coming, didn't ya? With evil villains come evil plans. So, are y'all ready for more as well? Then, just to help motivate ya, here's Chapter 3 comin' at ya to do just that! And, oh, you know the "IDNOAC" thing. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart--Chapter 3--Hatching Plans

Now that Spectra and Bertrand had decided to try to turn Danny Phantom's life upside-down, the trick now was on how to do it. The two began to plot their scheme, but found it was more difficult than they thought.

As they sat in Penelope's lair, beating their heads for some kind of plan, Bertrand was the first to come up with an idea. He brightened at his idea and said. "Oh, then, I know what to do, Penelope…!"

She turned to look at him.

He smiled when he got her undivided attention. "I think I have the perfect thing to upset the Ghost Kid's smooth sailing! I discovered it while working on that masking formula, and I just know you're going to _love_ it! I would have told you sooner, but didn't want to until I perfected it. But that was only just recently."

"Oooh, and what's that, Bertrand?" she asked, genuinely interested this time. Bertrand was always dabbling with something, and usually that something ended up being something good.

"Well, you remember that I told you how it took some time to get rid of the scent of that flower's perfume?"

Spectra wrinkled her nose at the memory, and at her comment, "Not really. But I _was_ wondering why you had smelled so badly for a time. I thought for a moment that you'd gotten a hold of a can of that stuff the Ghost Kid's geeky friend, What's-His-Name, used to spray all over himself. You know, that stuff that had repelled all those ghost bugs in my last plan to get the perfect me."

Getting a little irked, but ignoring her first comments, Bertrand replied, "Yeah, I know. And the kid's name is Tucker Foley."

"Oh, yeah, that was it," she agreed when she heard that name. "So, anyway, how come the Ghost Kid didn't notice the smell?" She sniffed him over and then added, "Or, did you sweat it off before you came here?"

He rolled his eyes in irritation, before dryly saying, "Penelope, don't tell me that you already have forgotten all about how I got that plant and how I discovered its unique little properties?"

She paused a little, and suddenly realized that she _hadn't_ paid particular attention to his explanation about that ghost plant. With a dismissive wave of her hand, she uttered, "I know you told me before, but you had better tell me again. I must have been too busy at the time; and you do blather on and on, sometimes taking forever to come to the point, you know."

"Geez, Penelope!" he grumbled a little, but went right on with his story even when he saw her frown in annoyance….

"As you know, I have been having a harder and harder time getting to Pandora's Fountain of Youth. On the last occasion, I had just filled my bottle with the youthful water when the Minotaur found me. His kick was quite impressive and I ended up pell-mell into a large briar of flowers. The only thing that took the sting out of that patch of thorny flowers was its unusual smell."

"No kidding," she interrupted him, remembering the particular distasteful odor.

He flared a nostril before continuing. "But an odd thing happened when I took a whiff of the flowers. I noticed that for an instant, my ghostly aura disappeared! I took another deeper waft of the perfume, and my entire ghostly aura wasn't visible for several minutes! I just _had_ to investigate this!"

Spectra yawned a little and forced her eyes open, trying to keep interested.

Bertrand noticed, but continued nevertheless. "So I took a few samplings of the flowers to my lair and started to experiment with them. And I found out a couple of important things."

Spectra sat up a little with that piece of news.

He smiled this time now that he had her attention again, and said, "For one thing, the plant couldn't survive in my lab no matter what I did. And, I just knew I needed a way to collect the perfume of plant where it grew—which was a little ways from Pandora's Fountain of Youth. So, I made a machine to do just that."

"I haven't seen you use any machine," the shadow ghost said, getting bored once more.

"I'll get to that in a minute," he replied. "Anyhow, after I got a device to do just that, I went right out and collected the perfume samples, concentrating them into a little vial I built right into the machine. And when I concentrated the samples, the effects of the resultant deep amber perfume lasted longer, but the smell worsened and was overpowering!"

Penelope scrunched up her face again and commented, "You don't have to tell me twice! It's a wonder, then, that the Ghost Kid didn't detect you miles before his silly 'ghost sense' clued him in! Still, maybe it was best that the plant died. And come to think about it, it's been a while since I smelled that on you. Did you really sweat it off before you got here after all?"

"Hmph!" he said indignantly, but immediately dismissed her comment. What he had to say was more important to their plans. "Oh, I didn't tell you! I finally worked out the smell all together! Unfortunately, the steps it took to do that got rid of the nice scent before the bad one…But now, it doesn't have a scent at all! And that's why I could get very close when I spied on those two human couples," Bertrand added with the same smug smile. He then said, "And also, I made another accidental discovery during the process of getting that odor out of the masking formula."

"How's that, Bertrand?" the female ghost asked, perking up once more. She hated to admit it, but she liked surprises.

He then added, "Remember how you tried to siphon off all those pathetic teens' misery in order to keep looking young and vivacious?"

"Yes, and failed miserably, no thanks again to that annoying Ghost Kid!" she said. But then she frowned. "What's that got to do with your cover-up juice?"

He nodded, and continued, "Well, I discovered that the little device I used to siphon off the scent of that flower's perfume could do more than that! While I was concentrating some of the perfume of even more samples I had tried to grow, I noticed that at times the yellow gas wasn't pure. It would have layers of a purple hue of an unknown substance within it. Of course, I couldn't have this contaminate mess up the masking formula, so I drew it out and analyzed it. And guess what I found?"

Penelope said with a long yawn, "I can't imagine!"

"It collected a substance we're both interested in!"

The shadow ghost's eyes brightened once more.

Bertrand's eyes twinkled with delight when he added, "It collected misery…well, really, what it's made of. And, in fact, it lets you suck the misery out of the humans without you even needing to be near them!"

"What? Really? Then how?" she asked, her mouth already curling to an evil smile with the anticipation.

"I'll show you," he answered, motioning for her to follow him to the backroom lab--the one Bertrand had convinced a reluctant Spectra to build. Bertrand had a lab in his own lair, too; but since the couple spent more time here than his place, he had wanted one here.

He went right up to the simple, small black contraption. It had only a few gauges on it and no lights. He tapped it on its side while saying, "This remarkable little machine has the ability to detect pheromones in the air. You know, the chemical substance released by animals—or for our interest, by _humans_—that serves to influence the behavior of other animals, uh, I mean, humans. That's what the 'misery' stuff is made out of, along with other kinds of emotions! And _this _little baby actually homes in on those substances, sucking them right into this holding area." He tapped on that side of the machine again to emphasize his point before continuing, "And then it concentrates and refines them so that each effective, beauty-filled dose you get could last several months."

"Pheromones, huh?" Penelope repeated. "I knew they had a role with moods and all, but never in my wildest imagination…." She suddenly stopped and grinned in delight at her assistant. "Bertrand, I lov—I mean—you're a genius!" she exclaimed. She was glad she caught herself. Her own ego unconsciously felt more at ease with the use of an ego-boosting compliment than that of endearment.

Bertrand smiled at her seldom-used compliment. "And there's a bonus or two to the whole thing as well!"

"Oooh, and what's that?" Spectra cooed.

"The sensor is particularly sensitive to pheromones associated with all the angst surrounding young lovers who are breaking up! Apparently, those kinds of pheromones are especially powerful and it takes less of them to fill the reservoir with those intense ecto-beauty secrets just for you, Penelope!"

He walked up to the machine and just as he pushed the button, informed her, "All I have to do is push this button…."

It began to hum and shake a little with the effort. Then, the papers lying around it fluttered a little just as it sucked in the surrounding air. In a few moments, a bell dinged and the machine stopped.

"What happened?" Spectra asked, suddenly concerned that the machine seemed to not be working.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about!" he calmly replied. "It's just that it's already full and also ready to deliver you your first dose! As we both know, now-a-days, human couples are breaking up all the time! The purest pheromones come from when established or married couples break up. Both are equally powerful!"

"How do you know that?" she said with one of her eyebrows rising with slight suspicion.

Closing his eyes and rocking on his feet, he said with a smug smile, "Well, I haven't been hanging around you all this time without _not_ being able to pick up some insight into human behavior, you know!"

She shrugged indifferently and said, "Maybe. But still, your little machine can suck up human pheromones all the way over here in the Ghost Zone?"

He smiled weakly and replied, "Well, yes and no!"

"What do you mean?" she said, suddenly frowning in disappointment.

"Well, if it's used here, it can suck in any amount of pheromones; but they are undefined, mixed with all kinds of pheromones, including those of animals!"

"Ugh!" Spectra uttered, her nose wrinkling up in disgust.

"But all that mixed-up stuff won't hurt you. The dose just won't be as pure or last very long."

"Oh," she replied in disappointment.

He frowned in worry when he saw her reaction, and quickly added, "But if we can get the device closer to the poor, deliciously unhappy couple, then the results are guaranteed. The quality of the dose will be at its most potent and concentrated state."

This time Spectra smiled and said, "Amazing!"

"Yes, yes it is!" he agreed with a smug smile. "And fortunately, the machine's small enough to be practically undetectable. We should have no trouble getting it very, very close. Now, would you like a sample of it?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Spectra began, scrunching her face up with the prospect.

"Don't worry, Penelope! I told you it wouldn't hurt you…" He looked at her face and knew how he could get her to try it. Pointing to her upper lip, he gasped, "Oh my! There's a teensy-weensy wrinkle right there!"

"Oh, no! Where?" she uttered, mortified. She instinctively began to desperately search for a mirror.

She sighed in relief when it looked as if Bertrand had found one; but when he turned, he was offering the device that was still in his hands to her.

She tweaked up half her face up in irritation at his ruse, but then reluctantly nodded.

He chuckled in triumph. He immediately studied the gauges and smiled again before he walked over to the shadow ghost and pushed another button. It emitted a puff of a very pale purple aerosol mist onto her and she squinted her eyes at the small onslaught.

"Oooh, it smells—and feels--wonderful!" she cooed, shivering a little at the tingle she felt going up-and-own her ghost spine.

When she opened her eyes, she was looking in a mirror that Bertrand had finally whipped out just for the occasion. She was just in time to see the small wrinkle around her lip disappear. She grinned in delight.

"You think that's good?" he asked with a wicked smile. "That's just a weak dose and will only last fifteen minutes. A powerful dose is a deep purple in color, like a fine wine, and will last for over a month. But that's not all! In its purest form, it can be bottled for further use." He pointed to a small nearby bottle filled with the dark plum mist. "That's all I got of it right now. And you can't do that with the weaker doses… " He grinned wickedly and added with a sarcastic tone, "That is why it would be better to be near the unhappy couple when the final 'happy' blow to their relationship comes."

Spectra smiled, quite pleased at this development. Now she didn't care about Pandora's fountain anymore. She gushed, "How delicious! So, I should have an unlimited supply! Humans can be such fools. They don't realize that with a little bit of work—and some unselfish giving--most relationships can be saved! Oh, well, don't say that I mind that they cheapen the word, 'commitment' at all! Their bad, my good!"

Bertrand snickered, "You're right! Lately, all people think about is their own fun. When it gets tough, they just bail out! After all, working through the hard times would cause some discomfort, which, of course, is bad for satisfying their own pleasure. Hmph! Don't they know that growth comes from all that work? Oh well, who cares? It definitely must not have been real love or promise in the beginning for those humans!"

He paused a little, and when he looked up at Penelope he saw she was regarding him with a raised eyebrow.

"You have the oddest need to go off on rants, don't you?" she asked dryly.

He cleared his throat in embarrassment, and quickly changed the subject, "Oh, I forgot something else. This machine can also detect the amount of energy that could be potentially gathered by it from the couple's break-up _beforehand!_"

"What do you mean?" she asked, returning to her mirror and admiring her improved image.

"I never thought you would ask!" he snickered. He pointed to one of the gauges and Spectra could see what appeared to be typed names under it. "Now, the shakier or newer the relationship the human couple has, the _less_ pheromone energy that is released when they break up. But the stronger the relationship had once been before the couple split up, the more of the energy is ripe for the gathering. So…might I suggest that we target the Ghost Kid and his girlfriend? I've already monitored them and the results indicate that the energy between them is extremely high and increasing! And here's that other bonus I was talking about earlier: The Ghost Kid's reading is even more interesting. Apparently his human pheromones are enhanced by his ghostly ones, so… "

"That means more bang for our bucks!" Penelope interrupted with a sly smile, getting his drift.

"Exactly!" Bertrand beamed. "His very unique 'samples' will be the ultimate prize….and the ultimate bonus!"

"What do you mean?" she asked, even more intrigued.

"Well, this is just a theory, you know, but according to all my calculations…."

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the details," the shadow ghost replied with an annoyed wave of her hand.

He frowned a little at her obvious lack of interest in this part, but he shrugged it off and continued, "Anyway, like I said, his pheromones are very exceptional. And all things point to the strong possibility that once we have siphoned off the Ghost Brat's enhanced pheromones, each dose might last for years! But here's the juicy part. We already know that humans get weaker once we have siphoned off their misery pheromones, but since the Ghost Kid's ghost pheromones are so intertwined with his human ones, I surmise that if we can keep gathering up his one or the other kind of pheromones, what's left will be unstable. He'll become so weak that he might not **ever **recover from losing them, which means…."

"He won't be able to interfere with our future endeavors!" she interrupted once more.

He smiled and nodded in agreement with her.

She paused a moment, hardly able to contain herself at her next hungry thought. She unconsciously licked her lips and gushed, "How delectable! But how about more? While we're at it, can we can work on ruining the relationship of that Foley kid and _his _girlfriend. He has been a thorn in my side too long, ever since he was able to get those ghost mosquitoes out of those teens! That should be a bonus for me and bonus energy for me--again--to see his relationship bite the dust. And especially when it involves _that _girl. She's got more pent-up frustrations than a swollen tick! Arrgghh! Now you've made me think of more bugs, Bertrand!"

"Sorry, Penelope," her assistant said with a wag of his head. "But you really have to put more work into working on that phobia, you know!"

He cringed when she scowled at him. He knew that she had been doing just that when she had been using bugs--and that she tolerated him _as_ one. But he quickly added, "The machine confirms that their energy is increasing, too, but it's not as strong as the bigger prize with the Phantom Kid and his girl."

"Oooh, I just love the plan, but the question is 'how'? How are we going to break them up?"

"That's easy," Bertrand smugly replied. "You know how volatile teens are! We can always just get another messed-up teen to mess everything up for them. We could overshadow some unsuspecting fools and get them to make the others jealous. We still have that special 'shielding' perfume left so that the Phantom Kid won't detect that they're being overshadowed."

"That might work. But, then again,…." She began, but then stopped when she caught a glance of the laughing ghost animals as they floated by. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Bertrand kind of echoed back, looking toward the nearby window when he heard a little laughter as well. But there was nothing at the window.

"I just thought I saw the weirdest thing! There were two black ghosts that just went by our window."

"So?" Bertrand responded, quickly unimpressed with her report.

Spectra flew to the window in time to see the dove and lynx floating away. They were obviously playing with each other. Her ghost eyes widened; and she immediately turned back to her assistant in disbelief. "And one of them is some kind of black cat and the other is some kind of bird!"

"So?" he repeated, still unimpressed.

She turned back to the window and reported, "But where are the _human _ghosts? I know I heard laughter,.,." She gasped when she looked more closely. "It's them! They're together and they're laughing!"

"So?..." he began.

But she forcefully interrupted him, "Will you **stop** that? That's just it! They're different ghost _animals_—together. And laughing! When was the last time you've seen a cat and bird together as friends and both laughing as humans? That can't be possible! They must be more than just ghost animals! Hmmm….The psychological complexity in itself must be immense! C'mon!"

Bertrand rolled his eyes as she darted outside. Did she always have to spout out all that psycho-babble all the time?

But he quickly followed her to the outside of the lair.


	4. Chapter 4 A Change in the Wind

**A/N: Well, ya like so far? Hope so. Now, here's Chapter 4 for ya, finally with some ACTION!!! Hope you enjoy it even if IDNOAC, except for the dove and lynx, of course!!! Oh, and before I forget, I don't believe any ghost animal was shown speaking in the show. Some people mentioned Wulf as being one who does, but remember he's a werewolf, not a 'simple, real' animal. Just a little blathering aside. Now, on to Chapter 4. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 4—A Change in the Wind

Leisurely, the two ghost animals continued on their way. At first, they were concentrating so much on their search for a lair that they did not notice Spectra and Bertrand hurrying to catch up to them. But when the black lynx's ears perked up with the sudden detection of the approaching ghosts, he—along wih his partner---stopped dead in their tracks. He immediately reeled around with a threatening hiss, his claws ready in attack position.

Spectra gasped and suddenly halted her approach. Bertrand, not expecting her to stop, knocked right into her. But he quickly rebounded; and finally seeing that the lynx was definitely taking an aggressive stance, he quickly morphed into a large green wolf.

But the two ghost animals didn't want to fight. They were startled by these two ghosts who seem to be pursuing them, which, of course, they were. "Let us go, my love. We cannot risk it again!" the dove hurriedly whispered into the lynx's ear.

But Spectra's sharp hearing caught that short remark, and she jolted. That black ghost bird just _said _something! She was sure of it. But she couldn't be concerned about that at the moment, because that wildcat was definitely something to be _more_ concerned about at the moment.

The ebony ghost animal snarled again at their unwelcomed greeting party, and the dove took refuge at his nape, trembling in fear. But she quickly flattened herself hard against his body; and then, gently pecked him to signal that she was ready for what he would have to do. He flitted one of his ears in return just before he turned and took rapid flight away from Spectra and Bertrand.

"Oh, no you don't!" Spectra yelled as she morphed into her Spectral form; and Bertrand, still in his wolf form, took that as his cue. He bolted right after the fleeing couple.

The lynx could hear the pursuit and doubled his efforts. At first, it seemed as if the young animal couple would be successful in their escape. The lynx had the advantage. His small, but strong and lithe, stature helped lengthened their distance between Bertrand and themselves. But as the ghost animals delved more into this unfamiliar area of the Ghost Zone, the lynx had to slow down in order to avoid a lot of unexpected obstacles. He zigzagged as quickly as he could, barely avoiding the green or purple floating doors or shelves as he continued forward. But as it became more and more apparent that they were still being pursued and could not yet stop, the dove, which could only hold onto the lynx's back with her beak and feet, began to lose her grip as his movements became more erratic in his attempt to try to shake their tracker.

The dove tried with all her might to hang on, but finally, she just didn't have the strength. Her beak unwillingly released its hold, and just as she screamed in fear, her feet followed suit.

The black wildcat, of course, both felt and heard what had happened and immediately twisted himself violently back toward her direction.

But by the time he had been successful in his move, he froze in mid-flight at the sight right in front of him. Bertrand, still in his wolf shape, had the dove within his sneering jaws and was eagerly clamping down upon her.

Incensed, the lynx snarled aggressively; but right now, he knew he could do nothing. He did not want to endanger his love any further. Still, he produced his claws and readied himself.

At first, Bertrand was tempted to let the dove go and attack the little wildcat who dared to threaten him. Instead, he smiled wickedly and clamped even harder on the dove. She screeched in immense pain. Bertrand frowned as to why the cry coming from this creature sounded human, but he kept the dove secured within his maw nevertheless.

The lynx felt her blood-curdling scream tear at his spine. He was about to cry for mercy and yield, when a large purple-and-black door unexpectedly floated toward Bertrand and rammed him right in the side of his head. That, of course, surprised the green wolf and he unconsciously dropped the bird, who immediately soared away from her attacker as quickly as her injured left wing allowed her.

That was all that the lynx needed. He pounced upon the wolf and tore into him. Claws upon claws and fangs upon fangs violently attacked each other as the green wolf and black wildcat grappled. Their bone-chilling yowls and roars melded into a terrorizing echo which brutally assaulted the surrounding Ghost Zone.

Again, the lynx seemed to have the slight advantage. He could evade the wolf's paws more easily and more often; and found many small vulnerable spots that the wolf carelessly left open for attack. The last one he found made the wolf howl with pain and fury.

But the wolf had the advantage in size. After many failed attempts, his powerful paws finally got their chance and swiped at the small wildcat, making firm contact and momentarily stunning him. The dove shriek at the sight, but the wolf didn't hear her as he pounced upon his smaller adversary.

Yet, the lynx did not relent. With a hiss, he ferociously went right for the wolf's throat and plunged his sharp fangs into it. Bertrand shrieked in pain as his ectoplasm throbbed out of his wound. However, his morphing ability instantly cut off the rent in his neck, but not his rage. He doubled his efforts and delivered a powerful blow, which sent the lynx ricocheting through the green-and-purple atmosphere, his body finally plowing into an empty green-and-black ghost shelf. The small animal lay still.

Feeling an intense fear grow within her, the dove ignored the pain shooting through her injured wing and hurried as fast as she could toward the ghost shelf. But just before she got there, she felt the wake of a large green blur as it passed her, headed right to that same shelf.

It was Bertrand, of course, advancing in his attack once more. But just as the wolf was about to swoop down upon his helpless prey, the lynx stirred and yelped as he barely avoided the wolf's angry strike. Though still weakened by the mighty punch that Bertrand had last given him, the lynx rebounded and pounced onto the wolf's back. He sank his teeth into the back of his foe's neck and the wolf wailed and bucked with the piercing bite, throwing the lynx off of him as he did. Twisting himself violently back toward the wildcat, the wolf's paw this time returned the lynx's bite with his claws, which made fierce contact. The lynx howled in pain as the force of the blow not only stung him, but threw him onto his back. The wolf quickly pinned him down with one of his front paws, and readied with the final blow with the other.

But before he could strike, Bertrand felt something heavy pound his head and he staggered before falling to his side, momentarily stunned. Still, even as he fell, his large body was able to inadvertently pin the lynx underneath it. He had not paid attention to the dove, who had managed to grasp a large stone with her feet and had dropped it above the wolf's head, trying to defend the lynx. She fell to the shelf from the effort immediately afterward, as her left wing had not recovered from the assault made by the wolf. Still, she pulled herself up and hopped toward the lynx.

In the meantime, the lynx struggled to pull himself out from under the wolf; and the dove did her best to help, though she tugged in vain at his fur with her beak.

The couple gasped when the wolf moaned; and the lynx pressed harder to free himself. Finally, he succeeded and though weakened by the fight, he motioned for the dove to get on his back once more. She cringed at his wounds but moved toward his back. But before she could hop onto him, two things happened in quick succession: the wolf fully roused and jumped to his feet, and a large purple ectoblastic energy beam suddenly struck the lynx from the side. The lynx yelped as his body absorbed the biting ray and he fell into a stupor.

The dove cried out in alarm, but before she could reach the wildcat's side or even see who or what had attacked the lynx with that energy, she felt her body swept upward once more, and then, scooped up within the hot, panting mouth of the wolf. Again, she felt the hard pressure of his angry teeth as they clamped down upon her. She reflexively closed her eyes with the pain and screamed, and the sound of it was definitely a human one.

"Wait!"

The dove thought she heard a voice's firm demand, but was she mistaken? It, too, sounded _human_ and it sounded female. The dove opened her blurry eyes and looked through one of the small slats between the sallow wolverine bars of her hot, damp prison.

But before the dove could make out any _body _attached to the voice, the voice commanded once again, "Bertrand! Let it go!"

The dove couldn't know that the voice belonged to Spectra, who had given the wolf a harsh look just before admonishing him. Bertrand was squeezing the bird with a little too much relish and Spectra saw that. The dove thought that maybe the wolf was this creature's pet.

Bertrand sighed and released the dove, which immediately soared in an unbalanced flight toward the lynx. As she approached her beloved, she began to cry, fearful that he had been seriously hurt or was even dying from the heartless assault of the wolf and now this other creature. She landed right next to the lynx's muzzle and began to gently peck at it, letting her tears fall unashamedly. She did not notice that the green wolf named Bertrand once more had then closed the gap between him and them.

Spectra jolted at the sight. What was with these two ghost animals? And that dove was sobbing as a human girl would?! She slowly approached the animal couple, motioning to Bertrand to be quiet while trying not to startle the dove which now had her face buried within the fur of the senseless lynx.

The dove was so distraught at first that she hadn't noticed Spectra's approach nor that Bertrand had moved to the point that he was now too close to her and the lynx. But then, the ghost bird sensed a presence next to her and shuddered in fright when she looked upward and saw the irate eyes of the lynx's attacker again!

This time, the dove was so terrified that she had forgotten about her and her love's agreement not to speak to anyone. Before she knew it, the ghost bird screamed with her plea, "Please! Let us be! We meant no harm! But that…that wolf pursued and attacked us for no reason!" She recoiled within the fur of the still silent lynx, trying to back away from the sneer that had now formed around Bertrand's muzzle.

But she pressed on, "And my love would not have struck back had your wolf not have injured me. He meant no harm! _We_ meant no harm! Please!"

"Your _love_?" Spectra gasped in surprise. "You're _in love_ with a wildcat? And you can _speak_?" She then pointed to the lynx and added, "And can he talk, too? But how can that be? Ghost animals can't speak!"

The dove's eyes widened with more terror. Now she had done it! But what other choice had she had? They might have killed them both outright had she remained mute! She looked frantically, shifting her widened-eyes from the wolf, which growled at her, to the silent lynx, and then back to the black entity in front of her.

What was she going to do?


	5. Chap 5 The Plight of the Animal Couple

**A/N: So how is everyone? That good? GOOD! Now, here's more of some good stuff. Curious about these ghost animals? Well, I am too! JK! Remember, IDNOAC, except for the lynx and the dove. So, here's Chapter 5. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart Chapter 5—The Plight of the Animal Couple

The dove trembled after she had blurted out her desperate plea to these two strange ghosts. Still, she was more fearful for her and the lynx's afterlives than she was at keeping her promise to remain mute. And in the end, she hoped that these two ghosts would understand and leave them alone.

She swallowed hard and softly nuzzled the still unconscious lynx just before she said, "As you have plainly seen, we are no ordinary ghost animals. We were bewitched long ago by an evil king's sorcerer. We are sadly fated as we are because of our love for each other."

Spectra jolted in utter amazement again, but remained silent. This was very intriguing, and could be a very important development for her current plans.

The dove shed a tear as she pressed on. "We are truly hopeless, comforted to be together, yet doomed to be apart. No one could possibly understand our despair. Our wretched condition has made us outcasts, forced to flee from many ghost lairs before we could even call one home. We have traveled a sad, weary journey for far too long and wish only for peace. You must believe me when I say that we do not wish harm on anyone and wish that no harm reaches us as well. Please. Will you not show mercy on us, then, and leave us be?"

Spectra looked at her and then glanced at the silent black cat. The dove's words suddenly attacked her. _'No one could possibly understand our despair'_? Then, the shadow ghost silently muttered in her own mind, "_Interesting. And they have been on the run for a long period of time?"_

A fresh, wicked plan suddenly formed in her mind. It bubbled over her ghost brain, as a too-quickly-poured brew over a stein. She stifled her smile, and put on her 'understanding-psychotherapist-face', just before her eyes sent silent warning darts at Bertrand to remain silent. She sweetly cooed, "How horrible, horrible that you and your beloved have bore this pain alone all those wretched years! And we are so sorry, my dear, that we hurt you both! Your love scared us as much as we must have mistakenly scared him. I feel just terrible about it!"

Spectra dropped her head in feigned shame. But she could see at the corner of her eye that she had the dove's undivided attention. After all, this really was the first time that any ghost had _actually_ listened to the plight of the young couple. And for those few that had even bothered in the past to do so had offered useless, distraction-bent prattle in order for them to rid themselves of the couple as quickly as possible. Most ghosts, however, shooed them away in fear. Talking ghost animals, after all, were unheard of in the Ghost Zone. And, really, after all that, the shunned enchanted pair had never tried to communicate with any of the other ghosts.

The shadow ghost raised her head again and continued, carefully weighing her words as she did, "And you are right! We can't possibly understand your despair. No one could, unless they also had suffered as much as you two have. But can you at least let us try? You look so distraught, so miserable, I cannot help but have pity on you and your…"

"Husband," the dove finished for her, her voice still laden with woe. She hadn't realized that she had accidentally given more information than she had meant to Spectra. When she finally did realize her mistake, she gasped in fear.

But the shadow ghost thought this to be an even more delicious development, the perfect news. Spectra smiled encouragingly and gently said, "Of course. Your husband. Only the love of a wedded couple could endure such agony. Still, my dear, is there anything we could possibly do to help?"

The dove looked up at her in surprise. In all their years of wandering, this was the first ghost who had ever shown any sympathy to them.

"U-Uhm," she stammered as she looked nervously to the still senseless lynx and then back to Spectra again.

Thinking that the dove might change her mind, Spectra immediately piped in, "You don't have to answer at this instant. But at least let us help you right now, sweetie. We can take you both to my home until your husband recuperates. So, you really don't have to rush to saying anything else until then, OK?"

Before the ghost bird could answer, however, Spectra growled under her breath, "Bertrand!" She then motioned with her head in the general direction of the wildcat.

Bertrand frowned in irritation, but immediately knew what Spectra wanted. He morphed back to his human form and picked up the lynx.

The dove startled after seeing Bertrand's transformation. What kind of magic was that? She was too afraid to say anything and looked back at the shadow ghost. She shivered when she did.

Spectra motioned for the dove to perch on her arm. The dove reluctantly obliged her and slowly flew lopsided toward the shadow ghost. She ignored her pain in her still injured wing as she alighted on Spectra's arm.

And then, all four ghosts then headed back to Spectra's lair.

* * *

While the dove carefully watched Bertrand as he laid her senseless husband on a couch, Spectra carefully observed the nervous dove. The shadow ghost could barely contain a smirk when the second Bertrand had stepped away from the lynx, the small ghost bird immediately flitted in an unbalanced flight to him. She perched herself right next to his feline head and softly and lovingly nudged his muzzle. But her husband still did not stir.

Looking back up at Spectre with worried eyes, she gingerly asked, "Will he be well soon?" She immediately returned her gaze toward her enchanted husband and sniffled.

"Oh, yes, my dear, he will be fine. I only gave him a little zap. But in the meantime, let us talk a little," the female Spectre replied.

She didn't give the dove a chance to object. Spectra gently scooped up the bird and silently motioned to Bertrand to guard the wildcat. She smiled assuredly to the dove as they headed to another room.

Slowly and carefully, Spectra was able to woo the bewitched couple's story out of the small animal. Spectra appeared enthralled, which encouraged the young creature to continue. Bitter, yet morose, tears rolled from the dove's eyes as she poured her heart out to the shadow ghost. Spectra patiently listened and waited for the younger ghost to finish telling her tale. But that didn't mean it was easy to stifle the urge to roll her eyes at all the drama of the anguished dove. After all, the female Spectre really didn't care about the woe of the two lovers. She merely pretended to be, so she could win the confidence of the girl animal and therefore use her and her husband in the wicked plan that she kept churning in the back of her mind.

Finally, the dove heaved in her sorrow at the end of her story. She silently and dolefully looked back to Spectra after she did, and the shadow ghost sweetly replied, "You know, fate must have meant for us to meet! I think I have the answer to all your problems!"

"You do?" the enchanted ghost replied, her eyes brightening with hope.

Spectra unconsciously licked her lips in delight before she continued with a sickeningly-honeyed voice, "Yes, but first, my dear, you must want to be with your husband forever!"

"But I do!" the bird insisted. "And I know he does, too! We have already suffered so much together for far too long and wish finally to be at peace."

The older female ghost silently smiled and replied, "Like I said, I may have the answer you need." She floated over to a wall that held some books. She retrieved one of them at random and feigned reading it. She seemed absorbed with the contents of the book, when in fact, Spectra was merely solidifying her scheme. She may not be able to part these two lovers and use what she was sure would be eternal pheromones from them. After all, these two had been together for too long and had endured too much together. But Spectra was sure she could use these two to split up another couple…

She finally looked up from the book, and seeing that the dove was still looking at her, changed back to her human form. She excitedly said, "I have checked my magic book!"

"Magic?" the dove gasped in fear at Spectra's words and her change. The little bird had not expected this. But, she suddenly remembered the wolf's transformation. That would explain it. _She_ must have changed him. And by the looks of the strange form she had taken before reverting back to her human one, she could even change _herself_. Furthermore, the dove had never seen a ghost display so much power in one single blast. After all, neither her husband nor she had possessed anything like that.

"Yes. Magic. Oh, I didn't tell you? I'm a sorceress!"

The ghost bird's eyes widened in awe and dread. "You are?" She didn't know what to make of this. After all, sorcery had gotten her and her husband into this state.

Spectra answered with a reassuring smile, "Yes, and according to my magic book, there is hope for you both!"

The dove was speechless as her heart leapt. Hope! How they had longed to even taste a small bit of it all these years!

But Spectra pulled her out of thoughts once more. "But you and your husband must be willing to do anything I say, or I will not be able to help you."

The thought of having rejected this opportunity to be free from this burden of theirs was too much for the young ghost bird. Still, she hesitated. What would they have to do? What would her husband say?

But before the dove could answer the older ghost, Spectra frowned; and giving the female ghost animal the feigned impression that she was taking back her offer, Spectra began to turn away and float back to the room that held the lynx and Bertrand. But, of course, the female Spectre was merely baiting her.

"Wait! Wait!" the dove said in desperation. "We are willing to do anything you say!"

"But what about your husband?" Spectra began, pointing to the silent lynx. "You both must be in agreement, or else the spell will not work."

"I will beg him. Do not worry," the dove pleaded with her voice and her eyes.

Spectra looked at the dove's pained face and stifled a triumphant snicker. She knew without a doubt that her plan was going to work.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chappie! Never fear, for there's LOTS more of the story to come. But it'll have to wait for two weeks. (gasp!) As you know, I only have time to update on the weekends, and I will be out-of-town next weekend. But I'll give you a recap of the story so far at that time, so you won't get behind at all with it. Hope to e-see you then! truephan**


	6. Chapter 6 Easy Change

**A/N: YAY! I'm BACK! Had a great time, too, but now it's time to have an even BETTER time-getting back to my DP world! And I told y'all I'd give you a quick summary to make sure you're up to speed. So far: Spectra and Bertrand are hatching evil plans, in order, of course, to gain eternal youth. Bertrand discovered a plant in the Ghost Zone which masks their ghostly aura. He also accidentally discovers that the little machine he used to refine that masking perfume also detects, measures, sucks up and refines misery pheromones. And the best pheromones come from the angst between couples who break up. With that piece of useful info, Spectra and Bertrand are devising a way to break up Danny and Sam, and eventually, Tucker and Valerie, so that they can suck up their misery. But the two evil ghosts stumble upon an enchanted animal couple who may become instrumental in Spectra's solidifying plan. In the meantime, their evil plan has to be put 'on hold' for a little fluff time. And, remember the mantra: 'IDNOAC' and you'll be fine. Now, here is Chapter 6. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 6—Easy Change

The smell of the cool, moist earth tickled her nose and brushed her warm cheeks. She didn't mind the chill in the air and didn't even miss the sun. The rhythmical tinkling of the tiny waterdrops as they dove gracefully off their stalactites into their small crystalline pools was like a music box, caressing her mind with its distinct melody.

About to begin their unusual picnic, she chuckled slightly at how the small lantern they brought was no where near to being a candle; but, still, the light that emitted from it was enough for the embedded crystals in the walls of their underground cavern to wink back at her. Not with the intensity that they had done when the light from Danny's ectoplasmic energy orb had struck them, but still pleasant enough to enjoy.

"Didn't I tell you how happy I am that we could finally get back here?" Sam asked her boyfriend, her voice echoing a little as she placed the picnic basket on the cold, hard ground.

Danny chuckled, "No, you didn't-_If_ you don't include the past hundred times, that is…." He then smiled at her when she smirked. He put their blanket down, very pleased at knowing that she was pleased.

He went over to their picnic basket and placed it on the blanket. He then suggested, "Would you like to look around before lunch, then? It has been a long time since we've been here."

He smiled again when she said, "I'd love that!"

Flying over and landing at her side, he changed to his human form before taking her hand in one of his. He quickly grabbed the small lantern with his other hand as they began their 'tour'. The couple strolled down the 'underground park' trail they had first seen when they were searching for Amity Park's oldest hospital's foundation during the Spectre mystery.

As they walked along, Sam smiled at the sense of both peace and solitude here. She relished the small echoing of their footsteps and even of their quiet breathing. They seemed to be the only living creatures at the moment; and if she could, she would freeze time so that they could stay here forever.

The trail was easy enough to follow, as the mini-cavern they were in had many smaller caverns and trails carved into it. All of these natural wonders had been formed from eons of the earth's own artistic work. Each new pathway or room was eager to display its own marvels to the eager-to-see couple. Some of the rooms had various small crystalline beacons embedded within their walls that twinkled in endlessly different patterns as the couple passed by. Others had thick ribbons of drapery-like stalactites, which oozed from the cool ceiling like taffy, their brilliant colors reflecting the various minerals that they had delicately encased throughout time. Small white slender straws of stalactites also hung from the ceiling and beckoned the young teens to sip the cool water that dripped from them. But, they moved silently onward, taking it all in.

Danny was so enthralled that he didn't watch where he was going and rammed right into a large stalagmite jutting out of the ground. He chuckled in embarrassment when he jolted to a sudden stop.

But Sam squeezed his hand in reassurance and understanding. "It's all so captivating, isn't it?" she whispered.

"But not as much as you," he softly replied and squeezed her hand back.

She was too embarrassed to reply and merely blushed; and leading him on, quickly walked over to the small pool that another stalagmite had cupped in its one outstretched hand. She slowly swirled the cold water and played with the percolating calcareous water that continued to add its brew to the pool. But it did not give her the words to say at that moment. Sure, what he had said was kinda goofy. But, underneath, she really, really _loved_ all that goofiness. Especially when Danny said it.

She turned back to him and smiled before they resumed their walk. Except for an occasional soft whistle of amazement uttered by Danny or a soft gasp of wonderment from Sam, they continued to stroll in silence.

Finally, they came upon a very small waterfall peaking from a hole in one of the walls. It emptied into a small pond, which had a large flat rock right next to it. The couple looked at each other, and before they knew it, they found themselves sitting on top of the boulder as the waterfall sung its lullaby to them.

Again, no words needed to be spoken, but then Danny looked at Sam in surprise when she took off her boots and plunged her feet—stockings and all—right into the pond. "Oh, that's cold!" she gasped with a slight giggle followed by a shiver. "But nice!" She added, softly playing with the water with her feet.

Danny quickly decided to join her; although, unlike her, he took off his socks and not _just_ his sneakers. Then, he rolled his pant legs up, and stuck his feet in beside her own. But instead of playing with the water, he smirked; and with a twinkle in his eye, purposely kicked up the water so that the small wave he created splashed right onto his girlfriend.

"Hey!" Sam protested, gasping with the sudden, unexpected chill. But then, her face turned mischievous and she also kicked some water right back at him.

He also gasped at the cold onslaught, but counterattacked with an even more violent kick of water at her.

She screamed with delight when hit by his cold liquid blow, but she swatted him right back with a water-filled counter-blow. Again, he wouldn't be outdone, and with an impish smile, forcefully attacked her with an even larger watery wave of cold.

She was able to pull herself up to the shelf, easily avoiding his attempt. She laughed when she thwarted him, but did not hesitate to shove both of her feet back in, successfully swiping at him with her newest attack. She hit him squarely and his eyes widened.

That was it! Danny kicked more violently, shoving the water right at her. This time, they didn't stop and shrieked or laughed as they played in their vigorous water battle. Before too long, they were both drenched; but then laughing, they both jumped totally into the pond.

They continued to splash each other with more than their feet this time. After several minutes of this kind of fun, Sam suddenly sneezed and began to shiver.

"Bless you!" Danny added with a laugh and he quickly drew nearer to her. He wrapped his drenched arm around her wet shoulders, which only made her shiver more.

She pulled her wet hair away from her eyes and looked up at him, smiling weakly. But then, he changed into his ghostly form, and she shivered a little more when she felt the cold rings pass through her. Wordlessly, he lifted them both out of the water, made them both intangible, and floated to the edge of the pond. They were now completely dry.

"Thanks, Danny," she said when she felt his now warm arm around her. "You really know when to do the right thing."

"Part of the job, Citizen," he teased back with a low, semi-serious tone; and she shoved him away with a slight laugh. But he stumbled back, inadvertently tripped on a small, sturdy stone and fell right into the pond again.

"Sorry," she winced, as she reached out to help him up. She had not meant to shove him that hard.

Just as he grabbed her hand, he pulled himself out of the pond and became intangible, spraying her with the water that had sloughed off of him. She yelled at the new shower of cold water, and frowned in irritation, but only partly, because underneath, she felt that she had deserved that.

It was his turn to say "Sorry!" this time, as he had not meant for that to happen as well. He made her intangible and then grabbed her other hand when they rematerialized as dry as they had been. Interlocking their fingers together, he pulled her closer with both of their hands. And when they were now face-to-face, he let go of her hands and gently cupped her chin with both of his hands, as he said, "But I'm not sorry for this."

And just before their lips met, the little lantern's light flickered and dimmed, as if it were embarrassed to catch the couple at this private moment….

A few moments later, they pulled slowly away. Sam looked into Danny's eyes and her own eyes softened as she said, "You know, this might seem silly to say, but I really can't think of a better place to be right now. And, uh, I hope you don't think I'm crazy, but I _still_ can't believe that after all this time that we're finally together."

"Yeah, me, either," he said at first. "But I'm just glad it finally happened. I guess I always kinda knew it all along…And now, after everything that's happened, it was meant to be, as it should be." His eyes widened a little in embarrassment. Did he just sound like Clockwork?

Sam smiled at the look on his face and resisted the urge to laugh. She knew he was speaking about their telepathic connection. And Clockwork. Instead, she uttered, "Yeah, me, too." But then _she _was embarrassed to say what her next emotional thought was….

She didn't know that she had relayed it accidentally to her boyfriend, who caught it squarely, as he heard her in his mind say, "_I_ _think I've always been in love with you."_

But he didn't answer back audibly or mentally, as he knew that she had not meant to say that openly. Yet. He knew how difficult it still was occasionally for her to express her feelings. In fact, he could only recall one time she had actually _said_ anything…endearing... And that was just after he had saved her life from Jiva, when all of their emotions were understandably running high.

But he knew how she was and rolled with it. Especially now that they had this special gift between them, he knew how she felt. In some way, they wouldn't need the words. And she could always tell him when she was ready, and that would be all right with him, too. Instead, he leaned down closer to her and gave her a gentle but long kiss.

Sam trembled a little at first—and not because she was cold. But she soon relaxed when he drew her closer.

A few moments later, they parted, and she laid her head right under his neck and said, "You know what I like about it all?"

"What's that, Sam?"

"I like that it hasn't really changed a thing. And I don't regret at all at having made the big jump to the whole girlfriend/boyfriend thing. It's only made everything…uhm, fuller…." She blushed at the lack of a better word.

"_I mean, more complete. Like a void inside me has been filled,"_ he again heard her mentally say.

This time, he gently answered her back with his mind, _"Yeah, I understand."_

She gasped, but didn't get mad. She only blushed more and stuttered, "U-Uhm, Sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

"That's OK. I know. But I'm kinda glad you did." He gently grabbed her chin and lifted it up while pulling her closer again. As he kissed her, he suddenly felt like he was floating. But, strangely enough, he also felt stronger. She filled him with a warm surge of… power.

He felt time had stopped as he was flooded with all kinds of intense emotions. Then he wondered why he couldn't hear the waterfall anymore.

He felt Sam shudder again and he didn't understand why until they gently parted, and he looked all around them. This time, his face cringed in embarrassment. Seeing his breath as he spoke, he stuttered, "U-Uh, Sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

"That's OK. I know," she answered, also seeing her breath. "But I'm kinda glad you did!"

They both laughed in embarrassment again. Danny wrapped his arm around her waist and said, 'Let's go get some lunch, OK?"

"OK," she agreed, just as Danny grabbed the little lantern. He then lifted off with her, and she slightly turned back, giving the room they were once in one last look before the light left it.

The room did look beautiful, even though it had been accidentally frozen by Danny's ice powers when he had kissed her.


	7. Chapter 7 Uneasy Change

**A/N: AWW! I just LOVE Danny and Sam together, don't you? It just makes me all dreamy-eyed and gives me such butterflies! There's hope about love after all…Well, here's Chapter 7 to bring me down to earth again! Darn! And darn! IDNOAC! But enjoy anyways!**

Trueheart—Chapter 7-Uneasy Change

Tucker combed his hair for the fiftieth time and sprayed more cologne on. In fact, he didn't realize just how much cologne he had practically poured on himself until he could hear his father suddenly coughing as he approached his son's room. And he was just on the stairs!

"T-T-Tucker?" Mr. Foley managed to blurt out through another choking cough. "Did you spill the cologne bottle or something?" He finally came to the open door of his son's room.

"No, Dad, why?" Tucker replied, completely clueless of how much he reeked with the manly aroma.

His father coughed again and reflexively pinched his nose shut this time. His words buzzed as oddly as a fly's, "Because I think with as much of the stuff you have on you, we'll be able to save on the bug man's bill, since we won't need to call him this month at all!"

"Very funny, Dad," Tucker said with a smirk.

But his dad didn't smirk back. Instead, his face was lined with worry.

"Is it that bad?" Tucker finally asked.

"I'm afraid so, son," Mr. Foley said. "Do you really think that you need to impress Valerie that much? She seems so at ease with you."

"But that's just it, Dad," Tucker blurted out, throwing his arms up in the air, finally admitting his exasperation. "I think I'm getting **more **nervous around her."

"You do? Why?" his father asked calmly. Underneath, however, he was biting an imaginary lip. His son was **serious.**

Tucker hesitated. But he never had trouble talking to his father before, and didn't want to start having problems with that now. He started to talk, but then suddenly coughed on his cologne himself. He took a deep breath, coughed again, and continued, "I think I'm beginning to have, uhm, different feelings about her." He paused a moment, only to quickly add, "I kinda like them, too. But they're making me…uncomfortable."

Now his father paused. His son was **very** serious. More serious than he had ever been, well, except when it came to his techno gear. The man knew that Tucker was 'all ears' at this moment, and what he had to say would be taken to heart. "And how are they making you uncomfortable, son?" he finally softly said.

"Well, uhm, I'm not really sure, Dad," Tucker slowly began. "It's just that I'm beginning to want to be around her more, but I can't because she's so busy." But then, he unconsciously sped up as he finally blurted all that was on his mind out to his father, "And then, I'm kinda scared to let her know about that, too. I mean, what if she doesn't feel that way about me? What if she likes everything just the way it is now, which, really isn't that much, since she's so busy and we don't get to see each other much, anyways. I mean, we've hardly been able to be too much around each or anything like that, 'cause she's always having to dash off or something! Not that I blame her- I'm busy a lot, too. And we've had some great times together, but not many of those, so I'm not sure if I should even be feeling this way—but somehow I do! But how do I know if she feels the same way that I do—like she wants to be around me more, I mean—how will I react to that since I'm so busy?"

Mr. Foley blinked with confusion. He thought he knew what Tucker meant. And he was having a déjà vu kinda moment himself right now. That's exactly how he must have sounded to his father when _he_ was starting to get serious about his high school sweetheart, who was now his wife and Tucker's mom.

He looked at his son again and for the first time in a long while, he realized that his son was not his little boy anymore. How did he miss his growing up so fast? Memories suddenly flooded his mind…

He'd been involved as much as he could when his only child was little, and even up to his middle school years. But that's when Tucker seemed to be awfully embarrassed to have him around. And for the past two years, his seemed more interested in being with his friends than with him. Not that that really bothered him. He trusted Danny and Sam and they were extremely loyal to Tucker. He couldn't have picked better friends for his son. And, so, it was natural for him to prefer their company over his, now.

And his son had been going gaga over girls for just as long. But now, the boy he saw in front of him was becoming a man. He seemed more mature within the past year. But Tucker wasn't _that_ old, was he? Wouldn't he be turning sixteen this summer? Or maybe it was _he_ who was getting old? And now Tucker was getting serious about only _one_ girl? He had to say something to help. And he knew that Tucker could very well hang onto every word that he was going to say next.

Tucker was getting more nervous. Why didn't his dad _say _something?

Finally, his father uttered, "You know, Tucker, it's normal to have your feelings go all over the place while you're dating. It's exciting, fun and **scary-e**specially when you're with someone special. But you don't have to rush it, son. After all, you're all still in high school, and high school is supposed to be fun. And, _you know_, **scary.**.."

Tucker saw that familiar look that occasionally popped up when his father was serious about school. He laughed at what his father meant. He just knew that the 'grades' thing would get slipped in sometime.

But his dad smirked and continued, feeling more at ease on what he would say. "Just get to know Valerie as friends and then, let things develop slowly and naturally. Then, if it's meant to be more than friendship, you'll know."

"But that's just it, Dad," Tucker blurted out. "I'm not sure if you can say we were dating, really. Sure, we've hung out a lot and gone out to some places with just each other. But I think it was just as friends. Well, maybe a little more. But not much. But now, I'm not so sure about it all. We've been sorta friends for about a year now. In the beginning, I used to feel sorry for her, and wanted to help her as _just_ a friend. But now, it's totally different. Dad, I think it's happening… And I don't just mean the 'more-than friendship' thing.' I mean like, _happening_, happening. Like, I really, _really_ like her. And I can't help it! I'm thinking about her all the time! I want to be with her all that time! But I can't. So, I think it's already here, but how can I be sure and how can I be sure that she's feeling the same way?"

Now his father was getting a little nervous. He didn't want to say the wrong thing. "Now, at the risk of sounding corny, I'm going to tell you something. You know that your mother and I trust you without any doubts in our minds, right?"

Tucker nodded, and secretly didn't think his dad was sounding corny at all.

Encouraged by his son's response, Mr. Foley continued, "And we know you are very responsible and have always tried to do the right thing. You have picked great friends whom we also trust. We're proud of that, you know. And we know that you wouldn't want to lose our trust, as we yours. So, I'm sure your mother would agree with me to say that just say what comes to you at the moment with Valerie. Part of being in a good relationship is just to come out with how you exactly feel sometimes. Usually, the other person feels exactly the same way. I know that worked with your mom!"

Tucker smiled, happy that his father told him all this. Not that he didn't already know all that, but it was nice to hear again. But he still wasn't satisfied, and said, "But what if I screw up?"

"Well, if you mean: will you say it all 'hip and cool', I don't know," his father said with a smirk.

Tucker rolled his eyes but smiled back. Now he knew from where he got his kind of humor. "No seriously, Dad," he replied.

"OK. I think you should be yourself, no matter what," his father simply said. But then a thought hit him. "Oh, have you talked to Danny and Sam about it? I mean, they're dating, right? And you know I think they're great and trustful kids?"

"C'mon, Dad, I get the message!" Tucker said with another roll of his eyes. But he was secretly pleased that his dad approved of his friends and did trust them. "But, no, I haven't really talked to them about it To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if they would understand. Don't get me wrong. They're great and I can talk to them about anything, really. It's just that, their becoming a couple was almost a 'no-brainer' for them. It was more than natural for them to get together. I mean, they've been around each other since, like, kindergarten! So, I don't think it's the same with me and Valerie."

Mr. Foley responded, "You have a point, Tucker. But like you noticed, Danny and Sam are also very comfortable with each other and that's the question you should ask yourself about Valerie. Are you comfortable with her, and if so, you should tell her how you feel."

Tucker thought about what his father just said. He thought he was comfortable with Valerie. Wasn't he? Even when she was off in one of her frenzied tangents, he felt comfortable with her. After all, he had been used to _Sam_, and in some ways, Valerie and she were kinda alike: stubborn, strong and **vocal.** And both of them had pent-up frustrations, even anger, against a lot of things: their own situations in life, for instance. Valerie had been thrust into poverty and Sam constantly fought with her parents to be accepted as who she was. And both of them felt strongly about justice. They couldn't be sitting on the sidelines while injustice or bad things were happening around them. Not if they could do something about them.

He sighed. Maybe he could talk to _Danny_ about it after all. He **had **to understand about girls like Sam and Valerie. Maybe.

Finally, after Tucker was silent for longer than his dad was comfortable with, Tucker said, "Uh, thanks, Dad! That really helped!"

"_Whew!"_ his dad thought but said, "Sure, son. Anytime you want to talk, you know I'm here for you."

Tucker smiled. He knew that.

Mr. Foley smiled back, and said, "So, are you ready to go, son? We don't want to be late."

"Just a sec, Dad," Tucker replied just before he went into his bathroom.

He hurriedly wiped some of his cologne off.

Valerie rushed home on her hover board after having to fight three ghosts right after school. She looked at her watch again and groaned. She was going to be late—again!

Tucker would be there in less than fifteen minutes to pick her up to take her to dinner and then to a movie. And she looked **ever **bit the wreck!

"Darn it!" she muttered angrily at herself. "I don't want to disappoint him again! All I wanted was to have a nice, quiet evening with Tucker for a change. Can't we have just _one_ normal date?" She jolted at the thought. She realized that she was _very_ upset about this. More than usual. Suddenly, she was confused by her thoughts. Being late never upset Tucker before, she thought.

But, now, it all seemed so different. She _didn't_ _want _to see the letdown that seemed obvious in his eyes lately when she was late. But he never said anything about it, so she started to brushed it off. But then, she realized that he must have been covering it up all this time so as not to upset _her._

She jolted again at the next thought. He always tried to keep her from getting upset. He never once complained-until the other night when she told him about her birthday party. When she finally noticed the disappointment, even annoyance, in his face, she didn't like it that it was she who caused it, that it was she who may have gotten him upset. It's just that she was beginning to….somehow…care for him…

She flew into her room and quickly de-activated her battle suit. She rushed to the closet, instinctively dismissing the first dress that came forward toward her. It was the one her aunt had given her. She frowned as she looked at it again. Didn't her aunt have _any_ fashion sense?

She grabbed the next dress and groaned when she realized that it was the one with the missing buttons and the one that she had _still_ forgotten to sew. She searched and grunted in frustration. All her other dresses were still in the hamper. She had forgotten to wash them—again! Darn it! She would have to wear _that _dress—_the, grrrhh, aunt's dress_-after all. She quickly pulled it over her and straightened it out.

She hurried to check herself over in the mirror just as she heard the doorbell. "Oh, no!" she uttered frantically. No time for make-up! And no time to fix her hair! She moaned as she hurriedly fixed her hair in the mirror.

"_**So **__not good,"_ she thought as she looked at her dowdy dress and disheveled look. She grabbed a pair of shoes; and without stopping, hopped on one foot while hurrying toward the downstairs and putting her one shoe on the foot that she wasn't hopping on.

"Come in, Maurice, Tucker," she heard her father say. And then, oddly, she heard her father cough.

"OW!" Valerie yelled as she stubbed her unshod toe. She had hit the corner when she had turned it too quickly. She grimaced when she still rammed that now sore foot into the remaining shoe.

Then when she got to the top of the stairs, she stopped to catch her breath. Even though their new townhouse was a little larger than their old apartment, from the way her toe was throbbing, she wished right now that there were no stairs.

"Valerie!" her father called.

"Coming!" she answered just before she quickly licked her hand and plastered her hair down. She took a deep breath, and slowly started down the stairs.

She had just gotten about all the way down when she both saw and _smelled _Tucker. She automatically covered her coughing with one hand and slammed her eyes closed from the overpowering odor. When she looked up, he was blinking at her in disbelief. But it wasn't a bad look at all. She narrowed her eyes in confusion. This was a _very_ different kind of look.

She was so taken aback by his stare that she misstepped the last stair step with her throbbing foot and fell right to the ground, face first.

"Valerie!" all three of the males yelled at once, just as all three of them rushed to her side.

"I'm OK," she insisted, already blushing as all three of them helped her up.

Tucker swallowed hard as he backed up slightly away from her. He didn't have the chance to say it after all. He had thought she had looked stunning as he watched her come downstairs in that dress. But now he thought she wouldn't want to hear that now, so his voice, squeaking a little, blurted out, "Uh, are you all right?"

"Yeah, just feeling a bit stupid, that's all," she said with a nervous laugh. "Uh, are you ready to go?" She winced at how even _more_ stupid that must have sounded. Of course, he was ready! That's why he was here! She stammered with an embarrassed smile, "I-I mean, I'm ready to go!"

Mr. Gray then said, "That's good, then, honey! So, I'll see you back at eleven then, right?" He squirted his eyes toward Tucker and shot him a much different look, one that made it extremely clear to Tucker that her father meant 'at eleven'!

"Uh, of course!" Valerie _and _Tucker both said with a nervous laugh. They looked at each other, each of them perplexed how each of their utterances conveyed a different meaning to her father.

"Don't worry, Damon," Mr. Foley began. "One thing about Tucker. He's dependable and responsible. I'm sure he'll have Valerie back no later than eleven."

At first, Mr. Gray said nothing, but then he finally nodded in agreement with Tucker's dad.

Tucker swallowed his gulp and unintentionally stuttered, "W-Well, we better be going or we'll be late!"

Valerie grabbed his hand and covered her mouth after coughing a little on his cologne again…..

In no time, Mr. Foley had dropped them off at the restaurant. Once inside and settled, their conversation stayed on a 'small talk' level and Tucker got cold feet about trying to change it into a more serious one. He silently grunted for not getting the opportunity of telling her how he felt, or how beautiful she looked tonight. But then, he started to talk about something they were both interested in.

Valerie, meanwhile, was more chatty than usual, mainly because she was trying to pump herself up into getting on a more serious topic. But Tucker just wouldn't stop talking! Still, why did he keep looking at her that way? But then, he changed the subject and she got interested in that new program on his PDA. Maybe she could interface it with her battle suit.

Finally, they were finished with dinner, their jittery hunger satisfied, but not their hearts. As they walked to the movie theater, Tucker slid her hand into his. He relaxed when she didn't seem to mind. Not that they hadn't done this before, but it was the first time he was totally nervous about doing it.

They walked silently for a while, both wrestling with their feelings, and then Valerie saw something ahead. Perfect. She instantly pulled Tucker across the street and headed to their new, unplanned destination.

Though Tucker didn't object at first, when he saw that they weren't headed toward the theater after all, he pointed the other way and uttered, "Uh, Valerie, the movies are that way."

"Yeah, I know. I just want to stop here for just a minute, OK?" she replied as she continued to lead him on.

He smiled weakly as they entered the park. She led him to the small bench right by the water fountain and sat down, pulling him right down beside her.

"Uh, you don't want to go the movies?" Tucker managed to blurt out.

"Well, not really," she admitted. "Whenever we come here, I fall asleep, or when we finally get to actually go on a date, it's dinner and a movie. Not that that's bad, you know. I really like that. But can't we just sit here for once and just take the time to enjoy each other's company, as if there's no one else on the planet?"

Tucker nervously squirmed a little, but smiled nevertheless. "Well, if that's what you want, sure. I want to do whatever you want!"

"But you always, do, Tucker, and that's my point! What do _you_ want to do?"

Her words went to his heart. Now was the time. But he was still not sure. "Uhm, can we just sit here and enjoy the scenery a minute? I really love being outdoors, ya know, especially with you." He silently cringed. What a totally stupid thing to say! Especially when it was getting colder.

Valerie blinked in disbelief. Was _that_ all he wanted? But she didn't say anything, and leaned back.

Tucker silently put his arm around her shoulder and tried to relax. Suddenly, the soft rhythm of the water playing hopscotch on the fountain's many shelves soothed his mind and he closed his eyes. He thought how nice this really _did_ feel. To be outdoors, his arm around a girl he felt was becoming more special to him, and suddenly thinking that he could stay here forever. He jolted a little at the thought. And this time, he was **gonna **tell her!

"Valerie?" "Tucker?" they both said at once as they looked at each other at the same time.

"Uh, you first!" they both said at once—again!

They both chuckled and in his nervousness, Tucker said a little too forcefully, "Alright! I'm gonna say it!"

Valerie jumped a little, not expecting him to actually shout.

Tucker winced and said, "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that! But I want you to know something. Something that I've been wanting to tell you for a while now. But I was just not able to do it….Valerie, I think…I mean, I know that I want to be with you more and more now. And I know you can't and really I can't either. But I don't want you to think that I don't want to be with you. All the time. I mean, except when we can't, of course! But I think about you all the time! And I was afraid to tell you because I don't know what this all means, and I don't know how you feel about it, but I wanted to let you know how I feel. Ya know?" He winced again when he suddenly noticed that he was breathing rapidly from all the emotion, and could see his breath pouring out in the crisp air. He cringed. He was _sure_ he looked like a steam engine.

But Valerie just sat looking at him, dumbfounded.

And he suddenly felt as if he could just dig a hole in the ground and cover himself back up. He had said too much! And he just knew he had blown it. His face fell.

But before he knew it, she had thrown herself into his arms and gave him a kiss. And this time, the kiss had a different meaning for them both.

A few moments later, they parted. Then Valerie said with a hush, "I think I know how you feel, Tucker. I feel the same way, too, ya know!"

This time, he pulled her closer and gave her another kiss. But before they could really enjoy the new thrill, it suddenly began to rain—hard. Their pounding hearts had not heard the pounding thunder that had been giving its warning to them several moments before.

Valerie groaned as they got totally drenched, and totally cold. Here they were, finally feeling the same for each other, finally in sync in such a wonderful way, and now this happened. What a terrible way to end this date!

But Tucker thought it was their best date yet.


	8. Chapter 8 The New Couple on the Block

**A/N: OOOOOHHHH! I thought that Valerie and Tucker were just as cute as Danny and Sam were, didn't you? Well, then, I would, of course, think that! After all, I'm an unashamedly staunch shipper of DxS and TxV, that's all!! Anyhow, hope you're like this story! Remember, IDNOAC and here is Chapter 8 for ya. Enjoy! **

Trueheart—Chapter 8-- The New Couple on the Block

As was usual, Danny and Sam were approaching Tucker's house the next day to meet up with him to go to school. But they both instinctively glanced at each other when they saw Valerie approaching in the distance from the other side. She had never done this before. Usually she met up with Tucker at school. She waved at them and they sheepishly waved back.

"This is new," Sam said under her breath to Danny as she continued to barely smile at Valerie, who at that point was out of earshot. She still wasn't comfortable around her because she continued to hunt her boyfriend; or more specifically, her boyfriend's _ghost form_.

Danny smirked at Sam, and asked, "Yeah, so does this mean we're going on a 'double date'? Uh, even though this really isn't a 'date' date since we're all going to school?"

Sam rolled her eyes and deadpanned, "Funny. But I'll guess we'll have no choice. I hope I can roll with it. Can you?"

"As long as she's hunting for Tucker rather than Phantom, I can," he answered with another smirk.

This time she groaned, and they pressed onward, stopping as they reached Valerie.

All three stood in silence at first, feeling suddenly awkward with this new, thrust-upon _non_-routine. Before they could say anything, however, Tucker bolted out of his door and yelled, "Hi, Danny! Hi, Sam! Hi, Valerie!"

All three teens turned to him in bewilderment. He was so very peppy for first thing in the morning.

He rushed right up to Valerie and said again, a little more romantically this time, "Hi, Valerie!" as he slipped his hand into hers.

Danny and Sam jolted a little when Valerie _giggled_ back, "Hi, there, yourself, Tucker! Gee, you would think you hadn't seen me for a week."

Tucker said, and his voice sounded a little too mushy, "For me, a minute away from you might as well be a week."

"Oh, Tucker, that's so nice, but you know we still have a lot of classes together. So, we can't help but see each other today. Still, there's always, _after_ school."

Tucker just smiled back, and the look on his face made Danny and Sam feel just a little too uncomfortable.

"Uh, maybe we should get going. _To_ _school_," Danny finally insisted. But he didn't need to prod Sam to get going at all; she had been way ahead of him. He suddenly grunted at the jerk she had given him as she pulled him forward, away from the other couple.

But Tucker and Valerie didn't notice that and followed right behind them.

When they had gone a little way, Sam slowed her pace and Danny caught up. He was glad she had calmed down. He didn't know how much longer he could take having his arm pulled out of its joint. Finally, she leaned closer to Danny. Without missing a beat in their walk, she whispered, "What was that all about?"

"Don't know, and really, I don't want to know right now," he whispered back. "Let's talk about it when we get to school, OK?"

"OK, or we could, you know," she suggested with a slight cringe.

He smirked a little and answered mentally, _"OK, since you insist."_

"_Well, if you rather we wait…"_ she offered.

But he insisted mentally back,_ "It's OK. We've already started it, you know. But let me tell you what I think. I think it looks like they may be getting more serious then we thought. And I also think that it's about time that we let them be around us more often. Tucker has done his best to keep their, uh, relationship away from us. He knows that we're—or I should say, __**you**__ are—a little uncomfortable having her around. I understand that, but I'm not as uptight as you are about that. As long as she isn't in her huntress mood or mode, I don't think we have anything to worry about. And I think we've been a little unfair to Tucker. He has been very tolerant with us and I think it's our turn to be tolerant with him __**and **__Valerie."_

Sam blinked mentally and physically at her boyfriend's remark. She sent her response back to his mind. _"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"_

"_Well, quite honestly, it hasn't been a real issue. But from the way they just acted, it looks like it might become one now. I mean, we really haven't seen Tucker and Valerie too much together. Even at school, Tucker keeps a low profile with her. And Tuck did say that she is way too busy to just 'hang around' him all the time. And that's also because he's usually hanging around __**us**__."_

Sam swallowed in guilt. She knew Danny was right. _"OK, Danny, I agree with you. But if she just so much as looks cross-eyed when she talks about Danny Phantom, I'll…."_

She heard his laugh in her mind just before he said, _"Don't worry, OK, Sam? I've taken so many 'hits' on my character, hearing any more of them from one of the 'experts' won't be any different. I think it would be better if we just let them slide off of us. Otherwise, don't you think she might become suspicious of our reactions?"_

This time, Sam stopped in her tracks, which because they were still holding hands, jerked Danny backward. Even Tucker and Valerie almost ran into them.

"_What was __**that **__all about?"_ Danny mentally threw at her, a little irritated by her reaction.

"Sorry!" she sheepishly said to Tucker and Valerie as she continued onward, this time gently urging Danny on. Then, she finally answered her boyfriend in their minds_. "Sorry, Danny. I just was a little blown away with your response just now. I'm still getting use to the 'new and improved' you, even though I really like it! I am just wowed all the time!"_

Knowing that she was referring to the fact that he was now actually _thinking_ about things more often than not, he deadpanned. _"Very funny. Now, I could really 'wow' you in spouting out some philosophical nonsense about why horses shouldn't have shoes, but I think I'll pass!" _

This time they both laughed and didn't say anything more—verbally or mentally for the rest of the walk to school.

But neither of them had noticed the flit of a tiny green fly that kept itself both near and far from them the whole time.

* * *

The new girl looked around nervously, hoping that she would be able to blend into this foreign school as much as possible. She had managed to go relatively unnoticed in the past two weeks since she had come, so she hoped that her luck would hold out. She didn't even want to be in this town, least of all, at this school! But her family had moved here after her father landed his new job.

She was a little glad that she was old enough to kinda roll with it. And it would only be for three years at the most. Really, less, since she was now a little into her sophomore year. With another quick, irritated flick of her hand, she pushed away her blonde hair that had fallen into her ocean-colored eyes again and went up to her locker.

Before she could wrestle with her combination lock, she heard a groan from the person next to her as he wrestled with his….

The tall, dark-haired, brown-eyed boy was a sophomore just like her. He, however, was a refugee from Croatia along with his family, having arrived in this country only a month before. And this was his very first day at Casper High. He was very thankful to be here, starting his new life in this big, inviting country. His English, of course, was poor, but he was determined to blend in as much as possible in spite of that.

As he struggled with the lock on his locker, he cursed under his breath in his native language. This should be easy enough, but he was having a hard time with it. He stopped and stared at the slip of paper in his other hand again.

The sandy-haired girl finally noticed his dilemma, but hesitated. Finally, as he was obviously becoming more exasperated with his continuing failure, she finally braved a response, "Uh, here, maybe I can help? These lame lockers this school gave us are just as useless as the books within them!"

He smiled weakly as she took the combination lock out of his hands, and continued, "So, what's the combination?"

He didn't understand her, but he also didn't want to seem rude. So he uttered in his thick accent, "Sorry. No talk to English vell. Took a little in Croatia, but not much."

She thought his accent was kinda cute and she immediately pointed to the slip of paper in his hand.

He squeamishly surrendered it to her and she deftly turned the lock to the designated points. The lock snapped open and the boy sighed before saying, "Thank me. In your country, the movement are the…ree-verse!"

She smiled and said, "You're welcome! And my name is Alice. But my friends call me "Al".

He shot his right hand forward and she took it, and as he shook it, he said, "You are Armen. From Croatia."

She giggled, "No, _you _are Armen from Croatia."

He blinked in confusion. Isn't that what he just said? Then, why did she say that? He thought she called herself 'Alice'. Or was it 'Al'? But he blurted out, "No. You are Armen. He iz Alice."

She laughed this time but assuredly said, "That's OK. I know what you mean. I can see you're even newer here than me! That's kinda nice to have at least that in common with someone!"

"Yez," he replied, though he wasn't that certain what she had said. "You are new! He iz sorry."

She scrunched her face up at first, and then knew what he meant. "That's all right! You don't—I mean, 'he' doesn't have to be sorry! It's just that I really thought I was the only one in this school who was the alien from another planet. Not that you're an alien, per se. It's just that…"

But she could see by the look on his face, that even though he was trying _very_ hard to follow her conversation, he was _not _succeeding. She stopped and then shrugged. Well, maybe he was half-alien. But then she said, "What class do you have next?"

He was glad that he kinda understood her this time. "English," he said with a smile.

"Ugh! No wonder you're all screwed up! You probably know more English than that lame teacher does!" she said with a laugh.

He smiled, not having a clue to what she just said. "Uh, English next to me, also?" he asked.

"No, I have math. What a drag that is, too! But I'm doing all right in it so far, considering I've literally jumped in with both feet," she answered.

"I have the both feet for math?" he asked, completely taken aback by her comment. What did feet have to do with writing out math problems?

She giggled a little. Maybe this was going to be a fun year after all! He was cute and seemed awfully nice. "Hey, Armen, don't worry about it, OK? When do you have lunch? If you have it at the same time as me, how about a couple of nobody 'newbies' having lunch together?"

"Yez," he agreed, not sure if she had said something about a 'lunch', whatever that was. Still, whatever that was, she wanted to do that together. Maybe? He looked at his schedule, afraid to admit to her that he still wasn't able to read it very well.

But she noticed that in his frustration, he had turned it upside-down. She was about to say something, but before she could, he nodded politely to her and headed toward another part of the school.

She ran right after him and said with a smile, "No, No! English class is that way."

He turned his head in the direction in which she was pointing. "Tank me." But then, he stopped and sheepishly handed her his schedule. "Sorry. You do not know your schedule."

She smirked, now amused at herself. She knew exactly what he meant. She looked over the paper and let out a small giggle. They would be having lunch together.

The first bell rang and she hurriedly said, "At lunch, when 'he and you' meet to eat, 'you' will tell 'he' some correct English! See you then, OK?"

"Oh. Kay," he said, as he watched after her as she turned to leave. Suddenly, he couldn't help but be hopeful that he would be all right in this totally new place after all. She seemed very nice and the only one so far who took the time to try to understand him. He headed toward the right direction to his English class.

Alice smiled as she walked on, nearing another boy who was crouched at his open locker with lots of books on the floor. She suddenly jerked her head back toward Armen, hoping to catch one last peek of him before she would have to hurry to math. But when she turned back, she found herself falling—right into the arms of the surprised boy, who reacted reflexively and deftly caught her.

He quickly righted them both and pulling back from her, nervously said, "Uh, sorry! I shouldn't have been pulling out so many books at once. I'm always having to re-arrange my darn locker to get just to one little thing." He quickly followed that remark with a quick tossing of all his books pell-mell back into the locker. He then slammed the door, shoving back at the books fighting to fall back out. Smiling at his success, he niftily secured the lock on the groaning door.

After watching the scene unfold, while partially stunned, Alice was finally able to say, "That's OK. I wasn't looking where I was going, either. No harm done, 'K?"

"'K!" he said, relieved. "Uh, are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before? I'm Danny."

"And, yeah, I just got here a couple of weeks ago. And my name is Alic- Al. Al."

"Al?" Danny asked with a smirk, before turning to his girlfriend, whose locker was right next to his. "Hey, Sam, meet Al! Al, Sam!....He chuckled on his next remark, "That's just too weird to be here with two girls that, well, you know, both of you have, well,…"

Sam smirked and gently interrupted him, "Don't mind him, Al. He does this all the time!"

"Hey!" Danny objected, but knew that she was kidding when she slipped her hand quietly into his and squeezed.

"Well, I better be going, then," Al said. "See ya sometime?"

"Yeah, sure," Danny and Sam said in unison.

"She seems nice," Danny commented as he watched the girl leave.

"Yeah. Anyone who isn't in any kind of clique is OK in my book," Sam dryly said, glancing back at the retreating girl. "So, I'll see you at lunch, then?"

"You bet! I just wish we had more classes together this semester," he replied with a disappointed tone as they started toward their respective classes.

"Well, maybe it's best that we didn't. Don't want you to get burned out with me," she quipped back.

He smiled and said to her mentally, _"What? And miss all this…"_ But he stopped when he caught a drift of her thoughts. She had been momentarily jealous of that girl?

Sam's eyes snapped wider when she realized what had happened. She could feel the blood rush to her checks. She chuckled nervously and stammered, "U-Uh, it's really freaky that such random thoughts just jump at you at the lamest times, right, Danny?"

"No problem, Sam. It's not important. And I didn't knock first before I just barged in," her boyfriend said assuredly. "So, let's not sweat about it, OK?" He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on her still blushing cheek.

"OK, Danny. See ya at lunch, then," Sam agreed, and then fumed at herself just as he left. _"You're such an idiot, Sam! Why should you be jealous any more about any girl? After all we've gone through, what's there to worry about? We're definitely comfortable with each other; we __**trust**__ each other. So, just roll with that and don't get bent out-of-shape if a girl so much as looks at him!" _

But she still frowned in dissatisfaction. She had gone through too many years of fighting and hiding her feelings, especially her jealousy. After all, they had been dating only for a little over a year now, well, really a little more. And they had gone through so much. This shouldn't be a bother at all! Even though she knew that their relationship was stronger than ever, it would still take some time for her to completely work through her insecurities.

She shook her thoughts away as she finally got to her English class and went in. She sat down at her usual seat, which was right next to Tucker and the new boy, Armen.

As they waited for the teacher to start the class, Tucker, as usual, was being hyper-friendly to the new boy. Sam thought the new boy looked aloof and even seemed to be ignoring Tucker. But, in reality, Armen had sort of phased away from the conversation because he simply couldn't keep up with Tucker's bullet-fast rate of speech.

Finally, Sam took pity on the new kid and said to her bespectacled friend, "Tucker, knock it off, will you? Can't you see that he's not interested?"

Then she immediately turned to Armen and said, "Don't mind him. He does this to everyone. He's quite harmless when you get to know him."

"Hey!" Tucker objected, but the new boy just cringed.

Sam scrunched her face up, confused at the new kid's reaction. She had meant that as a joke. Either he was clueless or stuck-up.

But before she could ponder over it any more, the teacher announced, "OK, class…."

* * *

Finally, class was over and it was time to leave. Armen had kept silent throughout the session. He was trying his best to take it all in. But the mental energy needed to do all that exhausted him. His mind in a fog, he headed to his locker, not paying any attention at all to _how_ he was headed toward his locker. He was trying to study his schedule at the same time as moving in autopilot. But just before he was able to get which class he should next go to, he ran right into Dash Baxter who was actually walking on the 'wrong' side of the hall. They both grunted at the impact and Armen dropped his books.

"Oh. Sorry," Armen said with a worried frown. "Your problem. You did not meant to bump me. " But, of course, he didn't have a handle on the proper use of pronouns, er, really, English in general.

"Me bump you? YOU bumped me, chump!" Dash growled back.

By this time, Sam and Tucker had arrived on the scene and heard the commotion. From what they heard next, they now knew why the new kid had been so quiet and seemed distant during their English class. He was obviously a foreigner.

"Sorry," Armen pleaded again in his unmistakably thick accent. "Not talk to English vell. Name are Armen." He shot his hand forward to Dash, hoping to diffuse the situation.

But Dash started to laugh, and then jeered, "Armen? Your name is 'Armen'? As in '**Arm** **'n' **Hammer'?" He stifled a snort, but continued, "What kind of name is **that**? Do you give discounts for doing our laundry, then?" This time, he croaked with laughter.

Sam instinctually jumped between Armen and Dash. "Leave him alone, Dash," she growled. "Can't you see that he can't speak English well? Give him some slack!"

"You mean, give him my **slacks** to wash? Maybe after gym!" Dash barely uttered between his laughs.

Sam growled again and then grabbing Armen's hand, pulled him away from the scene.

Tucker dutifully followed them. Not that he was afraid of Dash at all any more. He just wanted to avoid any trouble and not give him an excuse as to why he **shouldn't **use his PDA on the jock.

They had just gotten down the hall some ways, when who should turn the corner than Alice. When she saw Sam holding on to Armen's hand, she instantly glowered in jealousy. Didn't that girl already have a boyfriend? And now that girl was hitting on the guy she liked? What nerve! She angrily turned around and stormed off.

Finally, Sam decided that they had gone far enough away and let go of Armen's hand. She turned to him and said, "Uh, sorry. We're not all bad here, you know. Take it from me. Paying attention to jock-jerks like him isn't worth it at all. Just stay away from him and you'll do fine."

Armen didn't understand a lot of what she said, but he knew that she had 'rescued' him from 'the Dash'. He said, "You like tank me... I met, tank me, uhm, you? Right?"

"Oh, OK. You're welcome. I think." Sam replied with a smirk. "Oh, my name is Sam,…." She quickly pointed to her friend and continued, "And this is Tucker."

Armen smiled and politely replied, "You are Armen. You are from Croatia."

Sam and Tucker quickly glanced at each other and then blinked in bewilderment at the boy in front of them.

Tucker then said, "I think you meant, '**You **are Armen'. I mean, '**I** am Armen.' We say 'I' to mean 'me', not 'you'. Like 'I am Tucker'. See?"

This time, Armen blinked in bewilderment at him. Didn't Sam just say his name was 'Tucker'? Then why was that boy calling himself 'Armen' and then that new name, too? But, of course, he must have heard her wrong. He braved a response. "Uh, tank you, 'I-am-Tucker."

Tucker winced. This was definitely going to be a challenge.

But just then, the first tardy bell rang.

Tucker said, "Well, we've got to be going. See ya sometime?"

"Uh, good," Armen said with a weak smile.

Then they all left, wondering what the heck they had been talking about in the end.

But the ever watchful insect eyes had widened at all this news.


	9. Chapter 9 The Set Up

**A/N: So, how are y'all doin'?...Really? That's good….And I'm doing fine, too, thanks! But it's time to update! And as you can see from the title of this chapter, things are going to get bumpy real soon. And I'm very excited with this chapter, because I finally get to tell you the names of the ghost animals! Well, enough blather, here is Chapter 9. IDNOAC, and, of course, enjoy!**

TrueHeart Chapter 9—The Set-up

The lynx slowly opened his eyes, his blurry vision gradually coming into focus after being unconscious from the fight with Bertrand and Spectra. The first thing to greet him was a set of small green eyes looking both worried and relieved.

"Sarah?" he muttered, before slowly rising up. He groaned as the pain in his side suddenly shot through him, and fell back down.

The dove gasped as he fell, "Derek! Are you all right?"

She inched closer to him, and he tried to smile confidently to her. "I think I will be all right. I am just a little sore from the fight with that wolf. And dizzy from being hit by those rays. Are you all right?"

"I am fine," she said with a little more relief in her voice. "My wing was merely strained a little. I think I will be able to fly again in no time. Still, are you sure you are all right?"

"Yes, my love, I think I will be," he assuredly replied, shaking his head to try to help clear it. "But, where are we and how did….."

"Aww, the happy couple, together again! What was that? Sarah and Derek?" Spectra sweetly interrupted them. Bertrand was right behind her and both of them were in human form.

Her comment startled the young black lynx to full alert and, ignoring his pain, he jumped up to a defensive position once more. He immediately snarled and bared his fangs and claws, especially when he saw the scowl on Bertrand's face.

Spectra merely smirked, just before the dove intervened. "It is all right, Husband! She knows of us and has understood!"

He looked at the dove and then shifted his gaze back at Spectra, blinking in disbelief. He still felt a little dizzy and wasn't sure if he heard his enchanted wife correctly. "What do you mean that she knows and understands?" he repeated, wanting Sarah to explain what she just said. He did not, however, lower his guard.

"Yes, beloved! She understands our sorrowful situation, and she wants to help us! She and her servant did not mean us any harm, as she understands that we did not, either. She says she knows of the way to break the spell!"

Bertrand frowned in irritation at the ghost animal's comment about him but remained quiet.

Derek pulled his eyes from his wife and glanced at Spectra again. The human shadow ghost smiled knowingly and nodded, confirming what the dove had said.

The lynx then narrowed his eyes in distrust when he saw Bertrand's glower. He was not convinced. He had grown to be suspicious of any and all ghosts that they had encountered in their endless wanderings.

Sarah frowned with worry when she could tell that her husband did not believe what she had said. But before she could say anything more, the lynx growled. He then turned to Spectra and Bertrand and uttered with a wary tone, "Might we have a moment _alone,_ please?"

"Oh, yes, of course, you may. Even though from what Sarah has told me, you've had _more_ than your share of 'moments alone'," Spectra replied with a sweet smile that definitely bordered on sarcasm.

The wildcat glared at her slightly, but said nothing. But as he started to walk out of the area, he stumbled, still weak from the ghosts' attack.

Spectra quickly offered, "Oooh, that's right. How can we forget how _helpless_ you both are right now. We don't mind leaving you two 'love birds', uhm, I mean, 'love animals' to discuss this, do we, Bertrand?" But she didn't wait for Bertrand's reply, and immediately continued, "Take as much time as you need. Come, Bertrand!" And before he could do anything or object, she grabbed his arm and pulled her assistant out of the room.

But the two evil ghosts quickly doubled-back to eavesdrop. Making sure that they would not be noticed, they listened in carefully.

Derek waited a few more moments, pricking his ears up to make sure that they were alone. Finally satisfied that they were indeed just that, he gently but firmly said, "Sarah, what did you tell that ghost? And why did you even speak to them?"

Sarah's eyes immediately began to tear up. She was upset not only with the painful memory of their attack, but also when she could plainly see that her husband was chiding her. Still, she tried to put on a brave front and answered his second question. "I am very sorry. I did not mean to speak to them! It is just that I thought that you were severely wounded when they attacked you and feared for your life! I begged them for mercy, praying that they would not harm you any more! I did not realize until it was too late that I had uttered anything. Forgive me, Husband!"

Before the lynx could respond, however, the dove pressed on, "And forgive me once more, my dearest, but I told her everything about us. I am sorry, but I could not help myself! She listened with such sympathy, and she has understood…"

"'Understood'?" he repeated, his voice becoming tense. He was still not mollified. "How could she possibly understand our plight, Sarah? In all this time, no one has ever even given us so much as the time, and still, you gave your—_our_--trust without hesitation to the one who attacked us?"

Sarah's eyes widened. It was once rare to see her husband like this, but now it was becoming more common, more unbearable than their sorry state. She knew he had not been like this before the beginning of their tragedy. But now, he burned with suspicion of others. "Please, my love," she began soothingly.

But he interrupted her, not only with his wariness, but underneath, with fear for their safety. "You cannot so easily trust others, Sarah! That was our undoing in the past and continues to be so now. What do these ghosts want with us, then? Why did they attack us so readily, and now just as readily wish to help us? It does not make any sense, Sarah! Trust or no trust, it does not make any sense! How can you be certain that they are not merely waiting to harm us more?"

"This is not going well," Bertrand whispered to Spectra after hearing this last comment from the lynx. "We cannot depend on the male."

"Shhh," Spectra quietly hissed back. "Give the girl more time."

The two continued to listen.

The dove clenched her beak. He was right. Yes, her trust in one person in particular had been responsible for the curse that befell upon them. And she did easily trust others, but she could not apologize for her nature. Even through all these terrible years, she had not hardened about others as her husband had understandably had. She still had some hope, she still _wanted _to have hope. She did not want to believe that _everyone_ could have evil intentions. Still, she had not thought that telling that female ghost about them would put them into more danger. She finally answered her husband, but the more she spoke, the more her voice quivered. "I do not know. But it sounded so wonderful, so hopeful! She seemed so sure that she could unbind the spell upon us." She dropped her head in sorrow.

The black lynx noticed the change in her, and it pained him to see her so. Nevertheless, he tried to remain firm. "I am sorry as well, Wife. But I cannot help but feel that all of this is not right. What do they want of us in return for this favor they claim they can grant us? Not that I do not desire to be free from this curse. You know that I have just as much a fervent desire as you to be rid of it. But I do not want to give them this, this power over us. I feel that we will regret this as much as you cannot help but trust them."

Sarah answered him, but it was getting harder for her not to cry. "I understand, Husband. And you are right! I should not have trusted them. And we do not know what they want of us. She did say that we had to do whatever she said or else she would not be able to lift the spell from us. But what else can we do? You are still too weak for us to flee. But what if she speaks the truth? What if she can break our curse? She may do this only because it is right. After all, she did say she was a sorceress!"

"A sorceress?!" he gasped, even more concerned. "Sarah, I am even more worried about this."

"I understand. And forgive me, but you have nearly lost all hope, Derek. I have not. Please, my love, have a little more hope. Even if you cannot, I still have enough hope for the both of us! We have waited for far too long."

She could not longer control herself. Her eyes melted into large pools of water. And he felt when he saw them that he would drown in the sorrow they held.

Perhaps, she was right. He had little hope any more. And no trust save in her. But he loved her too much to extinguish either from her heart with his own doubts. Just for her, he would relent. "If it pleases you, Sarah, we will do as she says if that is her price for the curse to be unbound. Let us only pray that no more evil comes from it."

And Sarah choked out a weak 'thank you' before imbedding her face into his fur and sobbing, both in sorrow and in hope.

* * *

Spectra gagged her laugh at the news. She quickly and quietly floated to the other side of the lair and Bertrand was right on her heels. Once she was finally out of earshot of the two enchanted animals, she cackled, "This has been too easy! Still, I think you're right about the wildcat, Bertrand. We can't be sure that he will fully cooperate. I was hoping it would not come to this. I'd rather have kept this much simpler. But, oh well, you can't get everything you plan, can you? Anyhow, do you still have some of that potion left? You know, the one that you concocted that's supposed to put whoever we want under our complete control?"

Bertrand unconsciously licked his lips in delight and uttered, "OOhhh! That's even more delicious! Yes, I do have more of that, but not much. I never really made too much of it, as the ingredients I need for it are very rare. And really, I haven't really tested it on any animals yet. Still, that's a much smarter way to deal with these two! I wasn't looking forward to having to physically force the young whelp to go along with us. I'm still smarting from my last try to do just that!" He emphasized his point by rubbing the back of his still sore neck.

Spectra yawned, clearly a little disinterested with what he had just said, but she then replied, "That's nice. But I'm glad there is still enough of the stuff to do the job! We cannot let them fully be aware of what they will do. Still, it'll be just as delicious when they finally do realize what they have done; then we can siphon off their despair as well! Double the trouble, double the fun, right, Bertrand?"

He smiled wickedly in agreement just before he left to retrieve the potion. He returned in no time with the small, round, glass bottle with a very long and slender neck, topped by a tight cork.

"Now, I think our plans have been worked out, right, Bertrand?"

"Yes, all would just as well be ripe for the picking at the school!" he replied, momentarily lowering the bottle to his side as he did. "There are two new kids in school who make all the geeks there seem ultra-cool. They are definitely in a very vulnerable position, having had no chance to make friends or gain a reputation yet. But it is just our good luck that they have already been introduced to our target couple in, I should say, a rather unique way."

He quickly filled Spectra in with all the details of Alice's encounter with Danny, and Sam's with Armen.

He then concluded, "And that same new couple seem to already like each other. Not that their relationship is any way near to being a relationship, yet! But I think we can use them to hammer a wedge between the Ghost Kid and his girlfriend. That foreign boy seemed to like the goth girl, as well as the blonde one; and the blonde girl is just pretty enough to make the Ghost Kid's squeeze jealous!"

"Gee, did you figure all that stuff out by yourself, Bertrand?" Spectra uttered, both in awe and doubt that he would be this observant.

He frowned a little when he caught her drift. His remark was just as irritated. "Of course I did! I told you how much you have rubbed off on me, remember? Besides, I paid particular attention to all of this while watching them all."

She didn't notice his tone and a smile broke out of her at his reply. "How perfect is that, then?" she beamed. "Now, let's get to the final stages of preparation. I can't wait to do the deed. Or I should say, have **them **do the deed. Even though I'll reap all the benefits from the demise of the Ghost Kid's relationship with his girlfriend, it will be a bonus just to see him a basket case because of it! After all, I'll be able to suck in all of his misery and weaken him even more! Then, he won't be able to interfere with my just scooping up pheromones right and left for as long as I want! Now, where's that formula?"

Bertrand pulled his hand that held the bottle back up and handed it to the shadow ghost.

Spectra hungrily grabbed it and looked at its contents. The bottle's normally clear shell revealed the actual color of the potion. It was as black as night and swirled as the dark clouds do on a windy, moonless night. And as the unseen wind stirred the black liquid, it moved as a dancer expertly twirling a long black scarf… Only that this dark dancer twisted to the beat of a melancholic song, one so sad that it could reach one's very soul. The elixir inside was not inviting to the eye or heart.

"OK," Spectra finally said. "You said that this is enough?"

"Barely, but yes," Bertrand confirmed. "And remember, the mixture will take immediate effect, but it must be in their system for twelve hours before they will be fully under our control. So, we'll have to give it to them tonight if we're going to have them go to those dumb kids' school tomorrow. And I hope that once they have the brew fully taking effect, it will last as long as it should."

"Which is?" Spectra asked.

"At least another twelve hours," he replied.

She nodded that she understood. "Good! Then, let's get the happy couple ready to have their curse 'unbound'!" she ironically laughed as she floated toward the room that held the young ghost animals.

Spectra made sure that she made a lot of noise as she and Bertrand headed to their 'guests'.

As she entered the room, with Bertrand on her heels again, of course, she noticed that they both still startled at her abrupt entrance. Immediately, she sweetly cooed, "Oh, I am sorry! Didn't we give you enough time? Have you made a decision?" But before either of the ghost animals could answer, she added, "And I have the potion that will help you!" She lifted the bottle for the young couple to see.

Sarah cringed at the sight of it, and she began to regret her decision. Derek merely sat silently, not aware that his jaw had tightly clenched.

Spectra didn't miss the dove's reaction, however, and immediately assured her, "Do not worry, my dear. This potion will weaken the curse sufficiently enough that when your task is done, I will be able to break it completely."

"O-Our task?" the dove inadvertently stammered.

"Oh, yes, remember that I said you must do whatever I say," Spectra said, effectively hiding her irritation at the dove's hesitation. But she continued, "Have you changed your mind?"

Sarah searched her husband's eyes before replying, "No, we have not. I just thought…but it is not important. We are ready!"

"Oh, and the potion is tasteless, even if it doesn't 'please the eye' as you may say," the shadow ghost said with a giggle. She hurriedly poured some of the elixir into a small bowl. But she unconsciously growled when she had poured more quickly than she had thought she had, and some of the liquid spilled out. She motioned for Bertrand to draw near and he picked up the bowl and laid it near the wildcat.

Then, Spectra poured the last of the concoction a little more carefully into a tiny cup. Spectra looked into the cup and saw that there was very little of the brew in it after all. She dismissed the thought and smiled assuredly at the dove. This time, Bertrand placed it near Sarah. She hopped up right on the rim of the cup.

All four ghosts looked at each other in silent anticipation at first.

Frowning at the young lovers, Spectra finally uttered in a tone that didn't hide her irritation too well, "Well?"

"A-Are you not supposed to say some kind of….incantation?" Sarah bravely asked.

Spectra laughed in relief. Was that all they were waiting for? But she quickly lied, "Oh, that won't be necessary until after you have drunken it! But if you wish, I do have one chant that would make the potion more powerful!"

She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. She concentrated, searching for the words that would appease the ghost animals. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from smiling at her emerging idea. She knew that what she would say next would both confound and awe the young couple. She began to chant a simple thought, but did so in her native Spectre language:

"Foolish you are  
To drink so free  
But how ironically bizarre  
Slaves both will be!"

Sarah and Derek looked at the shadow ghost, their eyes widening more as Spectra uttered the incantation in that strange language. Maybe she was a sorceress after all!

Spectra then opened her eyes after speaking and looked at the couple in anticipation once more. "Hurry, drink it all before the echo of the incantation ceases!" she cried.

Sarah and Derek, in turn, glanced at each other, smiling weakly, silently encouraging the other to drink. No sooner had they done this, and then each of them began to imbibe the black liquid. But both scrunched up their faces at the moment they did. The concoction was not tasteless as the sorceress had said it would be. It was incredibly bitter. But they continued to drink it all up as she had said.

Once they were through, however, Sarah commented, "I am sorry! Is there something wrong? The potion was bitter in taste and….." But she didn't finish her thought. Her and her husband's eyes suddenly clouded over and became solid and bright red.

Spectra frowned in irritation, but knew by the changes in their eyes that it was safe to talk. "Why could she say anything, Bertrand?" she objected. "You said that its effects are supposed to be instantaneous!"

Bertrand grabbed his chin in thought. He then frowned in worry. "You're right, of course, Penelope." He went over to the empty bottle that had contained the mixture and looked down into the neck. He pulled out a little liquid still clinging to the rim and rubbed it between his fingers. It was gummy. "This may put a monkey-wrench into our plans, Penelope! This batch was too old. That is why there was so little of it in the bottle. If the potion is mixed with air too long, its properties change."

"And what precisely does that mean?" Spectra demanded, glancing over at the spellbound couple. "And why didn't you think of this before?"

Ignoring her last question and crossing his arms in front of him in a huff, he tersely answered her first question, "It means that the effects of the potion may not last as long as it should."

Spectra sneered, but then replied, "As long as it lasts enough for those two lovers over there to break up the Ghost Kid and his girlfriend, who cares?" She floated over to the stunned ghost animals. She smiled as they sat like puppets before her. And puppets, indeed, they were. She immediately commanded, "Now, my dear drones, it is time for you to retire. Tomorrow, our little plan will play out!"

And they lay down right where they were, obeying her without hesitation. Spectra motioned to Bertrand.

With an irritated grumble, he picked up the two animals and laid them next to each other on Spectra's couch.


	10. Chapter 10 The Plan Begins

**A/N: Well, well, have you missed me out there? I've certainly missed all of you! I forgot to tell y'all that I went out-of-town again this weekend and just got back! Wish I could say it was all for pleasure, 'cause it wasn't. But it wasn't a total bust, (some of it was salvageable fun!) and NOW it's time to have REAL fun! Anyhow, I don't think we need a recap, do we? OK, then here is Chapter 10, and as you can see by the title, the wheels on Spectra and Bertrand's evil plans begin to turn! Enjoy. **

TrueHeart—Chapter 10—The Plan Begins

The next day was an unusually balmy one in Amity Park. However, the forecast had predicted that would soon change. A cold front was fast approaching the small town, herding scattered dark clouds with it, as well as a threat of chilling storms. Too bad that an even darker storm would soon penetrate the walls of Casper High…

In the meantime, the two ghost animals had tossed and turned all night, tormented by nightmares that denied any rest in their sleep. The lynx was the first to stir, opening his eyes slightly; but he did not rise. He was still too dazed from the effects of the potion that Spectra had given him and his wife. The wildcat tried to fully open his eyes and lifted his head a little. He was lying on his side and looked downward at the sleeping, curled form nestled just against his chest. His feline eyes frowned, confused as to why this creature would be so near him. He could not see the bird's head, for it was tucked under one of its outstretched wings. Still, he did not move. He couldn't move. The elixir made him feel as heavy as lead, as if an unforeseen power was pressing down upon him. He lay his head back down and sighed.

Then, suddenly, his ears perked up. He thought he heard voices, but he could barely make out what they were saying. He sighed again; and resting his head on his paws, listened in, wondering who was talking and why. But in the very next moment, his eyes burned a solid red as he perked up in attention at the command he next heard.

"Listen!" the strange female voice said, but Derek didn't know that the order had actually been directed at Bertrand in the next room. Still, the lynx listened as commanded and unconsciously made a mental note about their conversation.

"Now, it's almost time to get going," Spectra told Bertrand. "We have to start before school begins. You know, that is when all those kids loiter around and try to impress each other. **That** would be the perfect time for our two pawns to plant their seeds of destruction in the Ghost Kid and his girl."

"Oooh, I just **love** it when you get dramatic! Bertrand gushed, and then continued, "And each of those two new brats are in the same classes as the kid and his girlfriend, so we can still have them needle them throughout the whole day! By the time it's over, those two little teens won't be able to stand the sight of each other!"

"Let's hope! And don't forget to keep the machine ready! Don't want to miss any of Danny's potent pheromones that might be lost in the process!" Spectra said, unconsciously licking her lips. "I can just taste them now! And you say that they might last for years? Hmm….maybe…" She didn't wait for Bertrand's response as she added, "Still, it'll be good to have Danny too weak to do anything about it in the end, don't you think? Now, shall we wake our quaint little guests?"

Bertrand nodded with an evil smirk, following closely behind her as she led the way.

They hadn't gotten far before Spectra spied one of the many mirrors that decorated her lair. She quickly stopped at it and inspected her human image. Bertrand barely avoided running into her as she did.

She didn't even look away from the mirror when she suddenly yelled, "Bertrand!"

"I'm right **here,** Penelope!" he said, his voice clearly irritated that she had practically assaulted his ears.

But she answered him, not noticing his irritation at all. "Oh, there you are! Quick, can you get that machine? I need a new dose!" She didn't even pull herself away from the mirror to look at him.

"Whatever!" he grumbled, as he turned to retrieve the machine.

In the silence which followed when Bertrand had left, Derek had rested his head back down upon the couch. He took this break in conversation as a command to mean that he was to disengage his attention. He closed his eyes and began to feel woozy.

Bertrand came back a few minutes later with the little box. He quickly turned it on and scanned the gauges for a moment before suddenly chuckling, "Oh, goody! Another married couple is splitting up!" He pushed a button and the machine rattled a little to life. Finally, a bell dinged and it stopped. He inspected the results, which were mauve in color. Not the best sample, but considering how far the machine had to search to capture those pheromones, not bad, either. He quickly took the vial out, affixed the aerosol top to it, and administered the dose to Penelope, who had not left the mirror.

"Ahhhh!" she sighed, now satisfied to have her perfectly flawless face back.

"That should last for a day at least," Bertrand commented.

"Only a day? Oh well, then, that should hold me until we get the big guns!" she said, still admiring her looks. Finally satisfied with the results, she then turned to Bertrand and said, "Now, let's get going."

She quickly headed to the room that held the enchanted couple. Derek had drifted back to sleep and Sarah was still deep in it when the shadow ghost and her assistant came in.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Spectra said dryly, as she observed their nestled forms. She quickly floated to them and loudly cleared her throat.

The animal ghosts didn't even flinch.

The female shadow ghost quickly became irritated and forcefully yelled, "Get up!"

This time, the dazed couple startled awake and immediately rose from their position.

Spectra smiled at seeing their completely scarlet, flaming eyes looking blankly at her. Just as she scooped the dove up, she motioned for Bertrand to fetch the lynx. She didn't need to signal her assistant to follow her, and she started to leave the lair.

He frowned, but did as she wanted. He quickly soared after her.

They had not gone too far when Spectra stopped and surveyed the area. Satisfied at the location, she smiled as she willed out her Spectre claws without hesitation and rent a hole in the dimension. She looked into the portal right after that and laughed. Not only had her hunch had been right, but there was also a bonus of luck with it! She saw Danny and Sam and Tucker and Valerie on the sidewalk, making their way to school. "How perfect is that?" she couldn't help utter in pure delight. And then quickly pointing to the lynx and then the dove, she snickered, "Bertrand! It's time to get this _unhappy _couple _together_,…." She just as quickly pointed to the humans she was viewing from her portal and concluded, "…to get those _happy_ couples _un-together_!"

No sooner had she said this than she cradled the bird closer to her, and raising an eyebrow at Bertrand, silently questioned him to see if he was ready. Bertrand, in turn, secured the lynx within his arms, and answered her with a silent nod.

Maintaining their stealth mode, the four ghosts quickly arrived at the school, and landed next to the only huge tree near the front entrance.

Turning to her assistant, Spectra said with a worried frown, "Oh, Bertrand, one more thing I didn't think of before we left. You didn't forget to bring the masking spray, did you?"

"What is the masking…Oh! Do you mean the 'De-ghost-a-fier'?" Bertrand replied.

Spectra rolled her eyes and wryly answered, "Why did you feel you had to give it such a ridiculous name?"

He said with a smug, "Well, it does mask your ghost signature, so it really 'de-ghosts' ya; so then, voilà, I call it the "De-ghost-a-fier'!"

Spectra rolled her eyes again; but refusing to get upset, settled for a dry response. "Whatever. Did you bring it?"

"Of course!" he replied, momentarily closing his eyes in self-satisfaction. "You know we wouldn't get to 'first base' without it. The Ghost Kid would know right away that those two humans were overshadowed without it."

"Good! So, let's hurry up and spray ourselves with it," the shadow ghost impatiently said.

"Us?" he asked in bewilderment. Pointing to the two stupefied ghost animals, he added, "I brought only enough for our two pawns. I didn't think we were going to go incognito. I thought we were just going to let these two do all the dirty work for us. Besides, the 'De-ghost-a-fier' is a very precious commodity, you know, and we have to conserve it as much as we can. The plant I use for it is very hard to come by, as you well know."

Spectra clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth before commenting, "Oh, well, then, we'll just have to make sure that those two 'pawns' are clear on their mission and let things play out. It's just that I wanted to be there to witness first hand the look on the Ghost Brat's face when the blow to his relationship comes. And, of course, to pick the ripest pheromones when it all happens."

"Don't worry, we'll be close enough right here to reap the awards," Bertrand replied, patting the tiny machine that he had brought along. "You know that this little baby will suck those pheromones up like a vacuum cleaner!"

"Just as well, then. It'll have to do for now. And speaking of 'now', let's get these two hosed down with that 'De-ghosta-stuff' and prep them. We want to be sure that they are completely covert when they work their charm on our targets."

Right after Spectra said this, she quickly materialized enough to see the two ghost animals under her command. She wanted to be absolutely sure that they would not misinterpret her.

Bertrand brought the passive lynx right up to Spectra's eye height and held him there. Spectra, in turn, did the same with the dove. Glancing intermittently between the two of them, she locked her evil gaze at them both and firmly commanded, "You will each have a human to overshadow. You, Derek, will overshadow the boy, and…" The female Spectre suddenly stopped and growled, clearly irritated, "Bertrand, they won't know which boy or girl unless we point them out! What are you going to do to make sure that they know?"

Scrunching his face back in a bit more irritation, Bertrand shortly said, "Alright, Penelope! I can turn into a fly and buzz the names in their ears and point them out when I see our other victims. I might be small enough to keep the Ghost Kid from detecting me. Besides, it would be better to get the machine as close as possible."

"You had better be right about all this, Bertrand! I don't want anything to mess this up!"

"Nothing's going to mess this up! It's perfect, as all of your plans are!" he said with a prideful smile.

She smirked sarcastically back before returning her gaze to the two silent ghost animals. She cleared her throat and firmly said, "Now, listen to me! Bertrand will whisper in your ear and tell you which girl and which boy you are to overshadow. Then, you are to…"

She stopped again in aggravation. "How will they know who the Ghost Kid and his girl are?"

"Easy! The two brats they're going to overshadow _know_ the Ghost Kid and his goth girl. Just mention their names to Sarah and Derek and they will remember them once their minds connect with the two teenagers we're going to use!"

"If you say so, Bertrand," Penelope said with at satisfied smile. "OK. _Last_ time!" This time, she handed the dove to Bertrand, who frowned now that he had to hold both of the ghost animals. But Spectra ignored his reaction; and reaching toward the ghost animals with both of her hands, cupped each of their chins within them. She held their chins firmly, pulling their hazed gaze right into hers as she commanded once more, "You will listen to Bertrand. He will tell you which girl or which boy to overshadow. Then, you, Sarah, will flirt with Danny Fenton."

The dove's eyes flared slightly with the command.

Seeing that the dove understood, the shadow ghost turned to the lynx. "And you, Derek, will try to steal Sam Manson's heart." She waited for the lynx's eyes to flare before she added, "Now, listen, both of you! Do as good a job as you did wooing each other…" She paused with her next thought, "I mean, like the young people today do! Oh, just listen to the minds of the two humans you overshadow and you'll know what to do! Do you understand?"

Derek and Sarah's eyes blazed a little just before Spectra relaxed and let their chins fall out of her hands. The two ghost animals quickly nodded in understanding when she did.

She smiled wickedly just before she commanded, "Now, make yourselves intangible and invisible and go! And report back here when your task is done!"

The moment the words left her lips, all three of the other ghosts turned intangible and invisible. Bertrand quickly changed into a fly again, and just before flitting right after the departing mesmerized ghost animals, noticed Danny and Sam, followed by Tucker and Valerie, in the near distance. He quickly overtook the ghost couple and hissed a firm command for them to follow him. They obediently altered their course and speed behind him.

The ghost fly led them toward the front of the school, fretting when he suddenly saw that the two human couples were headed for the same exact spot.


	11. Chapter 11 Hitting A Bump

**A/N: So, how's it going? Still digesting your Thanksgiving dinner? I know that I am STILL SO full that just a few minutes ago, I burped a little. The next thing I knew, my bloated body started to roll right over to my computer! And I was SO glad that it did, too, because before that wonderful eruption, I couldn't move AT ALL! And without that chain of events, I wouldn't have been able to post this chapter tonight! But now, I can! So, Happy Thanksgiving PLUS one day everyone! I am really VERY thankful for everything, including that I burped! Just the same, here is Chapter 11. Remember, the IDNOAC thing! So, enjoy and hope that hitting that bump won't cause any gas for ya! *permission to groan***

TrueHeart—Chapter 11—Hitting a Bump

Spectra anxiously peeked from behind the tree she had been hiding. Even though she could no longer see the invisible and intangible ghosts, she hoped they would go fast enough to avoid the nearing human couples and still get into the school before them.

But Bertrand had underestimated their speed and the speed of the two nearing human couples. It was becoming painfully obvious that they all were now headed on a collision course. Still, the shape-shifter knew that there was no way to slow Derek and Sarah in time, either. At this point, then, they really had no choice but to pass right between the human couples. And just as they did, Bertrand cringed with worry. He was sure that the 'De-ghost-a-fier' would keep the spellbound ghost couple under the young hybrid's ghost radar. But as for himself, he could only hope his small size would do the same.

Much to the shape-shifter's chagrin, however, Danny's ghost sense was activated the instant the small fly buzzed past him.

Danny gasped and his companions immediately noticed.

"What's wrong?" Tucker asked.

"Nothing!" he answered a little too quickly and frantically.

Valerie frowned in confusion, but Tucker, picking up on his friend's uneasiness, hurriedly said, "That's right! Today's goulash day and you didn't bring extra money again, did ya, Danny?"

"No, I mean, yes! Right! You're right, Tucker. You know how things just pop up and don't give you a _ghost_ of a chance to take care of them!"

Valerie frowned in confusion and uttered, "Huh?"

But Sam and Tucker picked up right away that what Danny was really trying to tell them was that he had sensed a ghost.

"Well, just so you know, Valerie," Tucker piped in, "I usually keep an emergency food supply in my locker. Looks like I'll have to break it out. **Right now**. Uhm, that is, let's go, OK?"

The bespectacled boy grabbed his bewildered girlfriend's arm before she could respond, and led her firmly away from Danny and Sam and toward the inside of the school. He did not stop until he reached his locker, within which he _did_ happen to have an emergency stash of food.

Meanwhile, Danny jumped behind a nearby bush and instantly transformed into his black-and-white hazmat-clad alter ego, Danny Phantom.

"_Be careful_," he heard Sam silently whisper to his mind.

"_I will,"_ he promised mentally back as he turned himself invisible and soared upward in search of any ghosts. However, he didn't find any, and his ghost sense remained mute. He could not know that Bertrand, Derek and Sarah had already gone into the school and were now waiting for _him_.

After a few more minutes of hunting, Danny turned invisible and returned to where Sam had remained, waiting for him. He flew behind the same bush and changed back into his human form, before walking around the plant and rejoining his girlfriend.

"Well?" Sam asked him when she saw his frustrated frown.

"Nothing!" he grumbled.

"And you're upset?" she inquired, trying to cheer him.

"No—and yes! I'm glad there's no ghost, of course. But my ghost sense is _never_ wrong. And come to think of it, it wasn't that strong this time, almost like the ghost was hardly registering or something." He sighed in disappointment and continued, "Oh, well, let's hope that it was just passing harmlessly by."

"I'm sure you're right! But, don't worry. You'll detect it should it rear its ugly head again," Sam replied with a weak smile, trying to cheer him once more.

But Danny didn't smile back.

Sam decided to just change the subject, and said, "Hey, before we go to our lockers, I want to check out the bulletin board by the office real quick. Want to come along?"

"I guess," he said with a shrug, still bothered that the ghost he had sensed had gotten away. But he said nothing else about it as they quickly went into the school.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Bertrand, still invisible and intangible, had been hovering near the kids' lockers with the two spellbound ghost animals. He kept himself between the young ghost couple so that he would be ready to give them the command to act. But as time ebbed, he grew impatient waiting for Danny and Sam to arrive on the scene. He grumbled as he stared at Tucker and Valerie at theirs. But then he smirked when he saw how hard it was for Tucker to open his stuck locker.

"Darn locker!" Tucker said, his arms shaking from the effort to open it.

"Need help with that?" Valerie offered.

Tucker frowned in mild irritation just as the locker popped open and rattled from his assault. "No, have that covered," he wryly said.

Suddenly, Bertrand saw the other victims, Armen and Al, as they neared the scene. They were so caught up in their simple conversation that they didn't notice that they were rapidly approaching their lockers. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company. And, clearly, Al had easily forgotten her tiff over Sam trying to steal her guy away now that Armen seemed so happy to be with her.

Bertrand smiled, keeping his multiple eyes glued to them. But he inadvertently mumbled to himself loudly enough for the hazed ghost animals to hear his every word. "Good! There's those two brats that Derek and Sarah are going to overshadow…"

He did not see his companions' eyes light up when he said their names. And he didn't realize that he was still mulling over his plans as he continued in a low voice, "OK. Sarah will overshadow that girl Al, er, Alice, or whatever her name is; and Derek will overshadow that boy. I think his name is Armen."

Just then, however, Dash and Paulina came up to the two new kids. Dash purposely blocked their path and jeered, "So, Armen, when can I bring my basketball clothes over for you to wash? I only want you to use your name brand soap, if you know what I mean." He snickered at his own joke and Paulina chuckled.

The Croatian boy just smiled, not knowing what Dash meant at all. And neither did he or anyone else know that the dazed ghost animals were watching the entire scene unfold.

Al immediately came to the boy's defense and the ghost animals turned their gaze to her. "And just what do you mean by that crack?" she challenged.

"Well, look who's here to defend the laundry boy! Hey! Maybe 'Arm-'n'-Hammer' can't fight his own battles and needs geek girls with boys' names to defend him after all."

What the jerk in front of her had just said suddenly hit the blonde girl, and she began to wonder if Sam had actually been defending Armen from Dash yesterday. But Al quickly dismissed the thought. She knew what flirting looked like. And Sam had clearly been trying to steal Armen from her. She frowned, refocusing back to the matter at hand, which was to get rid of this creep right now. She hissed, "Look here, jerk! If you think for one moment that's worth any waste of my breath to comment on, you need to get a brain transplant to put in that empty head! And I wouldn't wish an orangutan's brain on you! It's way too smart for you! "

She quickly ended her barb by shoving Dash out of their way and continuing down toward their lockers with Armen in tow.

Dash and Paulina merely frowned and walked off in a huff.

Al looked briefly back, and when she saw that the coast was clear, she sighed.

"Me, uhm, you all right?" Armen asked, scrunching his face with worry. Though he hadn't entirely understood the conversation between Dash and Al, he knew it was heated, and was about him.

"No, I'm alright. Don't worry. He's obviously just a big jerk." But when she saw the confused look in Armen's eyes, she laughed a little. "I wish I knew what that meant in your language! Oh, well, while I'm helping you learn English, you can help me learn a little Croatian, OK? It'll be fun.

"Yes, Croatia and be fun," he replied, still confused.

"Meet me at lunch again, Armen?" Al asked with a smile, knowing that he had not really understood everything that she had just said.

"Yes, lunch? Yes, lunch! You, I mean, I —uh, yes, Al," the boy answered with one of his own shy smiles.

Al squelched a sigh on just how cute Armen looked just now. Instead, she nodded and they began to part.

Meanwhile, the controlled ghost animals watched in silence and recalling Armen and Al's names, knew that these must be the ones of whom Bertrand referred. They nodded once more in acknowledgement.

But Bertrand didn't see their reaction again, as he was too busy glaring at Tucker and Valerie in frustration. "Darn it!" he said out loud once more, and the ghost animals turned to his direction as he continued, "Where is the Ghost Kid and his girlfriend? They usually aren't too far from the Geek Kid and his girl! Oh, well, once those two human brats, Armen and Al, take care of the Ghost Kid, they can break up Tucker and Valerie over there!"

The spellbound ghost couple immediately moved their gaze toward Tucker and Valerie's direction and nodded in obedience. Immediately afterward, they flew away from Bertrand, surprising him.

He hoarsely and frantically whispered, "What? Wait! Where are you going? I didn't tell you what to do yet!" But he hadn't, of course, realized that he had actually _done just that_ and that they didn't hear his command to stop. He helplessly tracked their path as they soared downward to Armen and Al.

Sarah immediately entered Alice and Derek overshadowed Armen. Both of the humans' eyes turned a solid, flaming red before reverting back to their original colors.

With a determined smile on both of their faces, the two overshadowed humans turned toward Tucker and Valerie. They were about to step toward them when Valerie said, "Hey, Tucker, I have to go turn this late paper into Mr. Lancer right now. He said he had to have it in his hot little hands before school or else he wouldn't count it. Meet you back in a few minutes?"

"Sure, Valerie," he said, still searching in his locker for any food he didn't really like to use for later.

Valerie smiled and rushed toward Mr. Lancer's room, unaware that Armen had turned and followed after her like a magnet to steel.

Tucker, meanwhile, deciding that he didn't want to give away _any_ of the food in his locker after all, sighed in resignation and grabbed a couple of more granola bars. He had to be ready to give them to Danny, just in case his best friend _had_ forgotten to bring extra money.

And just as he had shut his unaligned locker door—after the second attempt—-he jumped at the noise it made. He could never predict just how loud it could be and still wasn't use to it. But then, he jolted a second time when he suddenly saw Al. He had not noticed that she had crept behind the locker door when it had been opened.

"U-Uh, hello!" Tucker nervously stammered. "Sorry, I didn't see you standing there!"

The overshadowed girl drew closer and purred, "But I saw you, and I would have waited all day if I had to in order to talk to you."

"Uh, Oh-kayyy," Tucker replied with an uncomfortable smile. "Uh, you must be new here?"

"Uh-huh," she cooed as she inched closer to the boy. "But I do not care to meet anyone new but you!"

Tucker then had an odd feeling. Part of him was very pleased and a part of him was scared silly by her comment. He should have been very happy about it, but something stopped him. Instead, he nervously blurted out, "Uh, that's nice." And he hadn't realized that he had unconsciously stepped backward away from her.

But she stepped closer again, narrowing the gap between them even more. "Yes. Nice. You are nice. Are you not the Tucker?"

"_The Tucker_?" he silently questioned, but with his voice clearly reflecting his mounting discomfort, he added, "Yes, ahem, how did you know my name?" He pulled backward again, but his back met his locker behind him as she pressed closer to him.

"I just knew it!" she breathlessly said, pressing against him. "Such a perfect, handsome name for one so handsome as you!"

"Ah-hah, uh, yeah, well," Tucker stammered, oozing himself sideways away from his locker and the incoming girl. "It was so nice talking to you, uhm…."

"Alice," she completed for him, pronouncing her name as if it were a sweet-smelling perfume wafting right out of a bottle. She moved toward him again.

Tucker felt the sweat ooze out of his furrowed forehead as he nervously replied, "….Alice. Yes, well, Alice, I, uh,…"

"HEY!"

Tucker startled when he heard Valerie's firm _and loud_ voice. But Alice didn't flinch.

"V-Valerie!" Tucker stuttered, so embarrassed that he wished he could have phased right through the locker that was immediately behind him.

But Valerie hadn't been addressing him. She had been yelling at Al just then. She had set her sites on the blonde girl after seeing her get awfully friendly awfully fast with Tucker. And Valerie was livid when Al had wedged Tucker against his locker. She didn't hesitate to stomp right up to this strange girl and yank her off of her boyfriend.

But in her anger, she hadn't noticed that Armen had just been right behind her. Nor was she aware that he had been following her the entire time. So she hadn't seen the overshadowed boy's eyes flash upon finally seeing his opportunity to catch up with his victim.…

Oblivious to all except what she had seen between Al and Tucker, Valerie pointed her index finger aggressively in Al's face to emphasize her next growled words. "Look, whoever you are, that's _my guy_ you're flirting with!"

But Alice didn't even blink in response.

"Didn't you hear me?" Valerie sneered again.

This time Tucker butted in. "Hey, Valerie, it's OK. She didn't mean anything. She's new here and…"

But he stopped when he saw darts coming out his girlfriend's glare.

Valerie was about to spout out more at Al, but then, Tucker's words finally sunk in. Instead, she heaved a large sigh as she unconsciously fisted her hands to her sides. She glared once more at Al, and said through gritted teeth, "Fine! So, you're new here! Welcome to Casper High, and keep your paws off of my guy!"

She abruptly turned on her heels and grabbed Tucker by one of his arms as she did, pulling him away from the bewitched girl.

Alice, meanwhile, just stood there, still clueless as she smiled after Tucker. Then, she started to move—toward Tucker again.

"I'm sorry, Valerie," Tucker began, his voice quivering with embarrassment. "She just, like, came out of nowhere and…"

"Forget it," Valerie growled back as she continued to lead him to their first class. "It happens."

They walked into their next classroom, not realizing that the overshadowed couple was still following them.

They were also not aware that they had just missed Danny and Sam, who were just getting to their lockers.


	12. Chapter 12 Muddying Up the Waters

**A/N: Well, how is everyone doing? Glad you could join us again!! Ready for more craziness in this story? Hope you are, 'cause, in fact, it's only going to get more insane!! And, of course, I hope you like it through it all. So, don't forget the IDNOAC thing and here is Chapter 12. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 12—Muddying Up the Waters

During most of the class, Tucker shot nervous glances between Valerie and Alice. He could tell that Valerie was still steamed and he didn't like the message he was reading from Alice's smiling, dreamy-eyed face.

But neither he nor his girlfriend was aware that the overshadowed Armen was conveying that very same message to Valerie.

After what seem to be an eternity to the anxious Tucker, the bell finally rang. And because Tucker didn't want to upset Valerie or get more upset by Alice anymore, he avoided his locker like the plague and hurried off to his next class.

But unbeknownst to him, Alice wasn't that far behind him.

Valerie, however, went to her locker, not knowing that Armen had resumed following her. Just as she got to her locker, however, she was suddenly aware of a presence behind her and immediately twisted around to see who–or what--it was.

"Good morning," the thick-accented boy said when their eyes met.

"Uh, hello!" Valerie said with a slightly relieved smile. "Do I know you?"

"I sure hope you will!" he began as he put his right arm up on her locker, forming a sort of barrier between her and any escape route. "My name is Armen."

"Nice to meet you, Armen," she tersely said, not at all liking how much he had invaded her personal space. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to get into my locker before the next class." She then noticed that he had no books or anything with him, and dryly added, "Uh, shouldn't you?"

He just smiled dreamingly at her and she frowned a bit before turning back around and grabbing her combination lock. But before she could turn the dial, she noticed that his _other_ hand had leaned against the locker. Now she was encased between the locker and both of his arms.

This time, she was just plain annoyed. She twisted herself violently around again and forcefully said, "Look, Armen! I can tell you're new here because of your accent. I don't know about _your_ country, but in _this_ one, guys who come on as strongly as you are doing right now end up with a couple of black eyes! Now, if I were you, I'd back off!"

"You are very beautiful when you are angry," the Croatian boy said, a warm smile never leaving his face.

This time, Valerie was spooked. She immediately shoved him away and headed to her next class, without retrieving the necessary materials from her locker.

All through their next class, Valerie glared angrily at Armen while Tucker glanced nervously between her and Alice. He was getting more worried as the class went on. Was Valerie still upset with him about Al? If she were, he'd better patch it up soon. He just couldn't stand all this tension.

But in reality, Valerie wasn't angry at him. She was still steamed with Al and was now fuming over Armen.

Finally, his agony over the situation came to a head when the class ended. This time, he saw Alice headed his way and he hurried over to Valerie. He quickly said, "Look, Valerie, I'm sorry if…"

"I said it was OK," she tersely interrupted, as she headed to her locker.

He braved another response, "But you still looked so angry in class and I thought…"

"I'm not upset with you, Tucker," she interrupted again.

"You're not?" he uttered with relief. "But I thought…"

"It's that new kid!" she fumed. "I think he said his name was Armen or something like that! He was being a real jerk!"

"Huh? I mean, he was?" Tucker asked, looking for and seeing the goofy smile on the Croatian boy who was near them. Relieved that she wasn't angry with him after all, Tucker then added, "Oh, I know! He doesn't speak English well at all and maybe…."

She interrupted him once more. "Tucker, what he did doesn't need any words! I don't care if he's new here or not, if he gets near me one more time, I swear I'm going to lay him out!"

Tucker gulped, knowing that she was not bluffing. "Uh, what did he do and do you want me to talk to him?" he offered with another slight gulp. After all, the foreign boy was much bigger than him. Still, he was willing to confront Armen if Valerie wanted him to—especially since he had his PDA if he needed it.

"Well, he was being a little fresh. And, no, thanks! I can handle him," she answered with a growl, which only made Tucker gulp again.

"OK, Valerie, if you say so," Tucker braved to reply, just as Valerie was finishing up at her locker. She quickly closed the door and turned back to her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Bertrand had kept himself close to whole affair, observing it all. He couldn't help but cringe over the entire fiasco. The potion would last only so much longer; and with school day already in full swing, he could not deny that Spectra and his plans were going precipitately awry. He cupped his fly chin with one of his first set of hairy forearms and thought, "_Just as well that the ghost animals fail now. Looks like we'll have to cook up some other scheme. Or make it clear to Sarah and Derek to play it closer to the vest the next time...Anyhow, we'll just have to see how it all plays out in the end. It might give me some ideas." _

He turned his attention back to Tucker and Valerie, who were still in the midst of talking about what had happened. And the ghost fly could tell that Valerie was still steaming.

All the while, Armen and Al lingered in the shadows not too far away from Tucker and Valerie. The overshadowed humans stood side-by-side with vacant stares and vacant smiles, waiting for Tucker and Valerie to part so that they could take another stab at wooing each of their targets.

And as the overshadowed teens waited, their target couple still remained tense over the 'ordeals' Al and Armen had caused.

Not wanting to see Valerie in such a tizzy any more, Tucker then blurted out, "Look, Valerie, it's OK! I kinda expect guys to hit on you. Comes with the territory, you know. You _are_ beautiful. So, as long as you know that I don't mind, will you kinda _not _mind as well?"

"You're not jealous?" she suddenly asked. Then she jolted. "And you think I'm beautiful?"

He answered her first question. "Well, yes, I am a little jealous, and I'll still go and get him to back off if you want. But, I know that I have nothing to worry about with you, so let's roll with it, OK?"

She nodded a little, finally calming down.

He smiled when he saw her relaxed, before adding, "And, yes, I think you are _very_ beautiful."

"Oh, Tucker!" she said with a big smile and reached for his hand.

He readily extended his hand to hers; and then they headed to the next class.

Al and Armen started to follow them, but Bertrand flew right up to them and commanded, "Wait!"

Their eyes flared at his directive and stopped. They turned toward him.

He replied, "That's enough for now. We have to work on another plan. I want you to…uh, stay put for now!"

Just as he had said that, Danny and Sam appeared in the hallway, approaching their lockers. Bertrand startled when he saw them and flew toward the ceiling in time to avoid detection by Danny.

Once Danny and Sam had passed the overshadowed couple, Bertrand flew quickly down and whispered in their ears, "Now, listen, both of you! I want you to woo that couple over there. Derek, do your best with the girl. Her name is Sam, and Sarah, you do the same with that boy, whose name is Danny. But tone it down a bit, will you? The last scene was just awful!"

The spellbound couple nodded in silence just as their eyes momentarily flared a bright red. Each of them turned away from the little ghost bug and headed toward their new targets.

Bertrand flitted upward and perched on a small nearby nail. He waited anxiously.

Danny was the first one done at his locker. Before dashing off to his next class, he called to his girlfriend, "See ya!"

"Ditto," Sam said, not looking away from her locker as he left.

Al immediately turned on her heels and followed him.

"_Uh-oh,"_ Bertrand immediately thought, knowing that he couldn't be at two places now that Danny and the overshadowed Al had left the scene. "_Well, can't worry about that for now,"_ he decided. He then turned back to Armen and Sam.

Armen, meanwhile, went right up to Sam just as Danny darted off. "Good morning, mi lady," he said in his thick accent.

Sam turned to see who had said that, and chuckled a little when she saw it was Armen. "Uh, that won't necessary, Armen. One rescue from Dash doesn't boil down to treating me like royalty or something!"

"But I thank you for the pleasure of your company," he replied, suddenly grabbing one of her hands.

She politely pulled her hand away and said, "Uh, I mean it, Armen. It's OK. You don't have to make a big deal out of it, you know."

But he just smiled at her, and she thought it was a little creepy on how odd it looked.

But she threw the thought aside and uttered, "Well, see ya!" She turned a quick ninety degrees from him and hurried to her next class. He, of course, followed her.

But before Sam could get to her next class, she felt someone grab her hand and she was jerked to a stop.

"Ow!" she cried at the slightly painful, unexpected yank on her arm.

She turned to see that it was Armen again.

"I am sorry, mi lady, but I just had to say how much I appreciate you before we needed to part." He still had that unnatural smile on his face.

Pulling more firmly away from him this time, she grew more perturbed and said, "Look, Armen, not that I don't appreciate your appreciating me… uhm, well, something like that! It's just that we have to get to class!" Suddenly, she was struck with the oddity of the entire situation. He was speaking clear English! But not just clear English, but _perfect_—and odd—English. How could he have gotten _that_ good _that_ fast? What was with him? Then she immediately thought about Gregor.

But Armen pulled her out of her thoughts when he reached for her hand once more and playing with the large ring on her finger, earnestly, yet softly, said, "Then I will follow you wherever you go."

Just then, the bell rang.

In the meantime, the overshadowed Al had followed Danny to their next class. But something unexpected happened. Just before she entered the classroom, the potion that was controlling Sarah wore off and Sarah snapped out of the spell. Bertrand had been right. Sarah had not been given a full dose after all, and its effects had worn off more quickly than planned. Alice's body and she stopped just as they got to the door.

At first, Sarah was confused as to why she was up so high and not flapping her wings. And why her vision looked so differently. Then she gasped with glee at her next thought. She must have been changed back to her human self just as the sorceress had promised! But when she looked around, she saw that she had no idea where she was. Still, she was still too happy to care. She ran down the hallway, not at all knowing to where she was heading. She had to find _one_, to be sure that she was not dreaming.

Sarah then turned the next corner and saw two girls. The dark-haired girl was standing in front of an opened metal box, looking at just the object for which she was looking! Her heart leapt with joy as she hurried her approach to the girls in the distance. When she came upon them, Sarah--through Al's voice--excitedly addressed the raven-haired one, "Please forgive my intrusion, but may I please look at your mirror a moment?"

The girl, who turned out to be Paulina, snidely remarked, "Don't you have one of your own?"

The blond girl next to Paulina, who, of course, was Starr, piped in, "Hey, aren't you the new girl who has a boy's name?"

Al's body blinked in bewilderment and uttered, "I am sorry. I do not understand. My name is Sarah! May I have your permission to look into your mirror?"

Paulina looked at Starr, and Starr at Paulina. Paulina spoke to her friend and said, "Gee, isn't she really mixed up!"

Starr shrugged in bewilderment.

Still, Paulina stepped aside and let the new girl look at herself in the mirror.

As soon as Sarah saw her image, she screamed loudly in shock, sending Paulina and Starr and the entire hall of nearby students into a startled hush.

"That is not me!" Sarah screamed again at the person looking back at her in the mirror. "What has happened?" But before she knew it, she was suddenly sucked outward from her host's body. The shock at not seeing herself as she had remembered had broken her concentration and she could not maintain her overshadowing of Alice. And she couldn't maintain her invisibility.

Al was left in a daze at first as she still stood in front of Paulina's mirror.

Everyone else around her was also as taken aback. But as soon as everyone saw the ebony dove that had not been there just moments before, they reflexively gasped.

Still stunned, but now feeling afraid, Sarah quickly turned invisible and flew away...

"W-Where am I?" Al stuttered, putting her head up to her dizzy head. "And why am I here?"

"What's _wrong_ with you?" Paulina was finally able to choke out, her eyes widening in disbelief.

But Al ignored her and scurried away, completely mortified that she had no idea how she got there.

The blonde girl turned the corner and her puzzlement suddenly morphed to anger. And her head quickly cleared at the sight she now saw.

The overshadowed Armen was grabbing Sam's hand for the second time.

Al turned sharply around and vowed to herself, "I've had enough of that girl! Two of us can play that game! Time to go!" But then, she gasped when she glanced at her watch and saw what time it was. "Is it _that_ late already? What happened to the first part of the day?"

But she didn't know that Bertrand, who had been following Armen, had heard her.

Just then, the late bell rang and Al panicked. "Now, which class….Oh, yeah, science!" And she headed right to her classroom.

"You're late, Miss Thompson," the science teacher tersely said as the girl unsuccessfully slinked into the room.

"Yes, sir," she sheepishly replied as she headed toward her desk.

The man added, "But since you're still new here, we'll let it slide. But don't let it happen again!"

"Yes, sir," she quietly added, as all eyes followed her as she sat down next to Danny.

He looked at her sympathetically, and mumbled from the side of his mouth, "You're lucky that we weren't in Mr. Lancer's class." He smiled, trying to make her feel better.

She smiled back, but her grin had another meaning. She had other plans.

"Now you've done it!" Sam growled at the Croatian boy when she heard the tardy bell. "We're late for US Government!" She pulled her hand abruptly away this time and ran to their class, realigning Danny's ring when she did.

The overshadowed boy, of course, went right after her and they both bolted rather loudly into their classroom.

"Late?" the woman teacher sarcastically said through gritted teeth when the two entered the classroom.

"Yes, ma'am," Sam said with a frown. "I'm sorry."

But Derek loudly announced through Armen's thick-accented voice, "It is my fault, my dear Madame! I was lost and that fair maiden led me safely here!"

The teacher raised her eyebrows in complete surprise and the class giggled in amusement.

She cleared her voice and said, "Well, since we all know that Mr. Latzky is _very_ new here, we'll let it go. Just this once."

"I am eternally indebted to you!" Armen sweetly said with a very low, gracious bow, before taking his seat next to Sam.

Sarah soon found herself outside of the school. She flitted helplessly one way and then the other. Her thoughts pounded in her head, _"Oh, no! What have I done? Did I hurt anyone? And where is Derek, then? What has happened to him? The spell has not been unbound and I have put us in such unnecessary danger!"_ She continued to fly erratically, confused and upset. She didn't know what to do.

She headed toward the nearby tree, not thinking clearly at all.

But she had not gone very far when she gasped. She felt her body being snatched upward and her beak slammed shut to prevent her from screaming in dread.


	13. Chapter 13 Shaking It Up

**A/N: It's time for that update! And I'm updating earlier than normal because I'm just about to go out of town again (does seem like I'm a busy person—which I am, but only wish it was because I was invited to go on some exotic cruise or something!!) Oh, well, cant' have it all and I hope you're as ready as I am just the same!! Don't forget that IDNOAC thing—though I do own Armen, Al, Derek and Sarah!! Anyhoo, here is Chapter 13!! Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 13—Shaking It Up

Bertrand was now in a tizzy. He didn't know what had happened to the ghost dove, and the ghost lynx was miserably failing as time went by. But before he could think of what to do, the bell ending the most recent class rang.

Sam was thankful that it was lunch. After what she went through with Armen, she needed to talk to Danny. She hurried to her locker and once more, she could feel someone was at her heels. She just knew who it was. She turned sharply around and faced Armen. She was getting more and more annoyed at him, especially when another thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Look, Armen, you can't fool me! You remind me of another jerk who acted just like you, fake accents and all. So, if you know what's best for you, you'll just back off!"

"But, mi lady, I am smitten with you, can you not feel this?" he said in his thick accent, again reaching for her hand.

But this time, Sam was quick to respond and backed up. "OK, I was trying to be nice!" she growled. "I am _not_ interested, get it? I'm not _smitten _with you! I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to just leave me alone! You're giving me the creeps!"

She quickly turned and hurried as fast as she could toward the cafeteria.

Danny headed toward his locker after the bell rang for lunch. But he had just gone a few feet when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He stopped and turned around.

"Oh, hi!" he said to the pretty girl. "Al, isn't it?"

"Yes, and you're Danny, right?" she answered, faking her smile.

"Yes," he replied, resuming his walk toward his locker. "It's time to wrestle with my possessed locker so that I work up an appetite!"

She giggled a little and then said, "Oh, I wanted to thank you for the kind words you said in class."

"Oh, not a problem. I totally relate," he chuckled, as they walked on. "You have no idea how many times I've been late!"

"Still, I think kindness should reward kindness, don't you think?" she asked with a wry smile.

"Yeah, sure, but it's really nothing. I'd do that for anyone," he replied when he finally got to his locker.

She stood quietly by as Danny quickly did the 'balancing act' of getting what he needed out and throwing the things he didn't need in. But he was surprised when she was still there when he was finished. He smiled a little and then turned toward the cafeteria.

The blonde girl immediately followed him, saying as they walked, "Anyhow, it still was so nice of you, Danny. You seem to be such a nice guy. That's more of a reason for me to tell you something. I think it was better that you hear it from an outsider, someone new who doesn't really know anybody but sees things objectively, rather than a friend who would be afraid to tell you!"

Danny looked at her and frowned in confusion. What was she blathering about?

She continued, "Don't think I'm crazy when I tell you this!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, completely perplexed by the turn of the conversation.

"OK. I'll just come right out with it! Your girlfriend Sam? She's been cheating on you!"

This time, Danny chuckled in response, and Al's face twisted in confusion. He quickly replied, "Like you said, you're real new here, so you definitely don't know us at all. You must be confusing us with somebody else!"

'No, I'm not! She's been trying to take away the boy I like from me!" Al insisted.

"That's impossible!" Danny firmly replied, now getting very annoyed with the girl. "Look, Al, if you want to be friends, you're going to have to stop with all this nonsense. I think it's pretty mean!"

"And I think it's mean that Sam is lying to you and stealing the guy I like!" she hissed back.

"Now I think you're crazy! And I'm outta here!" he replied, breaking off their conversation and pulling totally away from her just as they got to the cafeteria.

* * *

Sam looked over her shoulder as she continued toward the cafeteria. She growled when she saw that Armen was not too far behind her, and closing in fast.

She finally got into the busy cafeteria and when she spied her boyfriend, she made a beeline to him. She didn't know or care that he had just arrived himself a few minutes earlier and had just sat down at a table to wait on his friends. And she ignored Al, who had followed Danny into the room and was still close by.

"Danny!" Sam yelled with a little too much distress in her voice when she drew near enough for him to hear.

Her boyfriend turned when he heard Sam call. He instantly knew by the look on her face and the tone of her voice that something was wrong.

She made her way to him, having to slow down enough not to bowl over some students who had inadvertently blocked her path. She grunted when she had to stop suddenly to keep from ramming right into another student. And when she had stopped, she was suddenly aware of a presence way too close behind her and she just knew it was Armen. Now desperate, she pulled away from the foreign boy, calling to her boyfriend's mind as she did, _"I need to talk to you—now! Let's get out of here!"_

"_OK," _he answered silently back, rising from the table. But he wasn't fast enough—or ready-- for what Sam did. Just as she finally got to him, she grabbed his hand and pulled him firmly away, only to have him trip.

"_Sorry!"_ she mentally said, as she helped him regain his balance. But that slight delay was enough for Armen to catch up, and this time, the overshadowed boy practically ran right into Danny.

Danny frowned in confusion at the foreign boy's actions. He was just about to step aside away from Armen when he grunted a little from the sudden hard tug at his arm. He was barely able to react after Sam had pulled him even harder when they had suddenly shifted directions. Finally in sync with each other's pace, the couple went through the back doors of the cafeteria.

Once outside, Danny quickly morphed into Phantom, slid his arm around Sam's waist, turned both of them invisible, and soared upward. He scoped out the surrounding area and landed in a clearing completely hidden by bushes.

The outside air was quite nippy. Fortunately, the sun was beaming warmly at their current spot. They were without their jackets, but Danny, of course, didn't need it. And Sam was so steamed at the moment that she didn't need one, either.

When they landed and materialized, Danny turned to his girl and asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

* * *

Bertrand, who had been watching the entire scene as it unfolded among all of the parties, could just kick himself with all six of his legs. Just when it looked as if the sparks would fly, the Ghost Kid and his girl had made their escape! But then, he was suddenly drawn to the scene directly below him.

Al had noticed Armen at the front entrance to the cafeteria and had run up to him.

"I don't get it, Armen! What do you see in her? I thought you were beginning to like me!" Al said in distress.

But he didn't answer her. He looked as if he were in a trance. The spellbound Derek was at a loss on what to do, since Sam was out of eyesight.

"What's wrong with you, Armen?" she asked, shaking him by the shoulders.

Bertrand could see the hurt in the girl's eyes and smiled wickedly at his quick new plan. He flew down to the still overshadowed Croatian boy and whispered in his ear. "Tell her that…."

Derek immediately obeyed Bertrand and said through Armen's voice, "What…is…wrong….with….me….is…that….I…like…Sam…better…than…you!"

Al couldn't understand why he spoke so woodenly—and so well--even with his accent. But, of course, she didn't know that he was repeating verbatim whatever Bertrand told him to say.

"I don't understand, Armen," she began, feeling the tears begin to well up. "You've known her as long as you've known me, but we…" But she couldn't finish her words. She broke down crying and ran away, leaving the spellbound—yet innocent—boy behind.

Bertrand smiled his fly smile and smugly said, "Well, if this isn't an interesting twist! This might turn things around after all. A jealous girl is _not_ one to be taken lightly!"

He flew over to the overshadowed human and whispered into his ear, "OK, Derek, time to get out and follow me."

The lynx immediately obeyed him and left the poor, dazed boy behind.

When Armen finally regained his senses, he scanned the area he was in and panicked. He had no memory on how he got here. He glanced at his watch and let out a loud gasp. Pulling it up to his ear, and hearing that it was ticking, he gasped again. Just where had he been for most of the day?

* * *

"I'm so glad I saw you when I did, Danny!" Sam blurted out, still clearly upset. "You know that new guy, Armen?"

Her boyfriend shook his head, but she didn't give him time to speak as she continued, "Oh, duh! You don't! He was that tall guy who almost rammed right into you just a few seconds ago. But, anyway, you'll know him well enough soon. He's totally gone off the deep end! He was hitting on me big time. Well, not being fresh, just being very, very weird!"

"What? What do you mean?" Danny asked, suddenly frowning in slight alarm.

"I don't know what came over him. I was nice to him once, and all of the sudden, he's going crazy!" she explained.

But he frowned in confusion this time, and Sam realized that she hadn't yet told him about the "Dash" incident. She continued, "I forgot to tell you because I didn't think it was big deal, then. But now I **do**. Anyway, I rescued him from Dash yesterday. Dash was doing his usual random 'picking on somebody' routine; and, unfortunately, he had Armen in his sites. I felt sorry for him, being new and all and…" She suddenly yelled, "That's right!"

Danny jumped at her radical change.

"Sorry, Danny," she said, slightly gritting her teeth in embarrassment. "But he's new, I mean, as in 'new' new. Right off the boat kinda 'new'. But when he was talking to me today, he spoke perfect English. At first, I thought he had faked it. But, now I don't think so, because the way he was speaking just now…It was _very_ odd…" She suddenly got more excited as the wheels in her head turned. "He talked just like Dora and Aragon do! Maybe he's a ghost!"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Danny objected. "He couldn't be a ghost. My ghost sense didn't go off."

"But it did, remember? This morning, at the front of the school?" she pointed out.

"I know! But then, why didn't it go off back there? Armen was practically on top of me by the time you got to me," he replied.

"I **don't** know! But I'm telling you that it's very strange. Too strange!" Sam insisted, shaking her arms at her sides to emphasize her desperation.

Danny was still confused about the entire situation, but he shrugged and said, "Well, if you don't have a clue about it, I certainly don't. But, like you said, he's a foreigner and might have some freaky customs. But if he bothers you again, just let me know and I'd be happy to introduce him to the inside of his locker, OK?"

Sam smirked weakly at his comment.

He then continued, "In the meantime, since we have no idea what this means, how about if we just chock it up to 'total weirdness' and forget about it? And, you know, speaking of 'weird', even that new 'Al' girl was acting all crazy, too! She just said that you were cheating on me!"

"You didn't believe her, did you?" Sam gasped.

"Of course not, though she sounded awfully convincing. Might have made me a touch jealous, though!" he said with a playful smile.

But Sam didn't notice his tease because she was still upset. "Why would she do that?" she mused to herself before blurting out, "She must have seen Armen flirting, I mean, freakishly flirting with me!"

Danny chuckled. "Well, I really don't know and don't care. She said she liked him, and maybe she must like him _a whole lot_ and was jealous, too?!"

"And she can totally **have** him, for all I care! And it won't be long enough before I ever see him again! He gave me the creeps!"

Danny grabbed his girlfriend's hand, trying to calm her. "Look, Sam, let's not worry about that anymore, OK?" he pulled her closer and she calmed down a little. "Let's just chill---and I don't mean by being out here," he quirked, receiving an amused eye roll from Sam. Danny then smiled gently, and suggested, "Let's go back in and get some lunch, okay?"

With that, he leaned over and gave her an affectionate kiss before they went back to the cafeteria.

Once they got inside, the couple saw _another _couple--Tucker and Valerie-- at the trio's usual table. Not that this hadn't happened before; but it really hadn't happened much in all the time that Tucker and Valerie had first dated. And that was because Valerie usually spent her lunch period playing 'catch up' with her homework or school projects with which she was constantly running late. But the times she had sat with them all at lunch had been usually very quiet ones, or hurried ones, so that the couples could dash off for some free time with each other.

So, when it looked like this might now be becoming a habit for the couples, Sam groaned. Just as well. She wasn't in the mood to talk anymore right now anyway, but not especially to Valerie. She quickly went through the lunch line, got her usual vegetarian diet, and plopped right next to Tucker so that he was now wedged between Valerie and her. This way, Sam was sure not to have to speak to Valerie.

Tucker nudged Sam a little, trying to give her the signal that it was a little too crowded on this side of the table, but she ignored the hint. He sighed under his breath and scooted over more toward Valerie, who smiled when she felt his shift into her.

In the meantime, Danny had gotten his tray and, seeing that there was definitely no more room on _their_ side, sat across from the threesome. He frowned a little in bewilderment as he saw the three different expressions on each of their faces: Valerie looked pleased; Tucker looked uncomfortable; and Sam looked irritated. He, of course could understand all of the reasons why they had looked that way, but didn't say anything.

And the two couples ate the rest of their lunch in silence.


	14. Chapter 14 Uncomfortable Adjustment

**A/N: Hello, again, y'all! Hope you've had a good week. I certainly have had a great week, and now it's time for an even greater night since it's time for an update! Things are stirring up to say the least, but did you really expect Spectra and Bertrand to pull it right off right away? Tsk, tsk, I'm sorry to hear that! I never doubted for a minute that they would. It would just take more time, that's all! Anyhow, enough droll banter! Time for Chapter 14. Remember IDNOAC and enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 14—Uncomfortable Adjustment

Bertrand, along with the still spellbound lynx, hurriedly phased out of the school and headed to where Spectra and he had agreed to meet. He wasn't eager to tell her the news.

"There you are!" Spectra sweetly said with a sly half-frown. "How did it go?"

Bertrand knew that her sweetness was insincere.

"Swimmingly, as in, we _drowned_," he dead-panned, as he morphed back to his human form. "Much as I hate to admit it, we have more work to do."

He quickly filled her in on the details of the events with all the humans involved in their fiasco.

Finally, he ended with, "As you can see, the lynx is safely here, but I don't know what happened to the dove."

Before he could say anything more, Spectra presented Sarah to him. She had stashed the little bird in one of the bushes, bound and gagged by ethereal purple rings.

Bertrand's eyebrows rose in surprise and he uttered, "Did the potion…"

"Yes, it did," she interrupted him, and she frowned in defeat. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Well, it's just as well that it wore off. Their 'Romeo and Juliet' acts were more like 'Ricky and Lucy Ricardo'. Excruciatingly horrible! Still, I don't think it was a total loss."

Spectra's eyes brightened and he continued with a wry smile, "Some seed has been sown, at least."

"What do you mean?" Spectra asked, getting excited once more.

"Let's get back to your lair and I'll explain," he suggested.

She nodded and grabbed the dove, while Bertrand grabbed the lynx. And all four left for Spectra's lair.

* * *

"OK, spit it out, Bertrand," Spectra said before licking her lips. "And this had better be good."

"Just a minute," he said as he went to the back room. In no time, he had returned holding two ghost cages, one big enough for each of their two 'guests'. He promptly commanded the lynx to put himself into the larger of the two cages, which the wildcat dutifully did. Bertrand quickly secured the door and turned to Penelope.

Spectra smiled at the idea and brought the still-bound Sarah closer to the ghost bird cage. "Don't even say one word and get in!" she warned the bird just as she dispelled the spectral bands binding the bird. She opened the cage door.

But she need not have commanded the young bird to go in or remain quiet. Sarah was so distraught at trusting another being with such disastrous results that she quickly flew into the cage, and threw herself into a corner. Then she dropped her head to her bosom and covered it with one of her wings and was silent. But no matter how upset she was, she could still hear most of Bertrand and Spectra's conversation.

"Now, that should hold them until we use them again!" Bertrand said with a wicked smile.

"But you said they did a terrible job! Besides, there's no more hypnotizing potion."

"Check, and check, Penelope!" Bertrand answered with a cluck. "But you forgot about 'love'. Those two over there love each other, right?"

"Yeah, too bad," Spectra said with disgust.

"No, it's 'too good'…he corrected her. "I bet that we can get the lynx to do exactly as we say. That is, if he knows that we'll hurt his love if he doesn't!"

"Oooh! I do love you, Bertrand," she replied, actually giggling at his idea.

"Why, Penelope, that's one of the nicest things you have ever said to me!" he replied with a satisfied smile.

She frowned a little and waving her hand dismissively, remarked, "Well, don't get carried away with that. It's just an expression."

"Oh," he answered, his face instantly dropping to a disappointed frown. He shrugged it off right away, however, and added, "Anyhow, if you can get the lynx to willingly overshadow that same human boy teen—the Armen kid-things might actually work out. First of all, Derek will act more naturally, rather than the dazed drone that he was under the effects of the potion. Plus, we can get that teen girl who likes the Armen kid so jealous that when we set-up the real 'scenario' to split up the Ghost Kid and his girlfriend, it'll work this time!"

"Sound a little too complicated to me," Spectra growled.

"It is. But you know that love is _always_ complicated…" He paused before continuing, "You still want the grand prize of those hefty ghost-kid pheromones, while devastating the kid enough that he'll leave us alone to gather even more of the stuff, don't you?"

"Of course, I do!"

"All right, then. It's going to take a little more time and a little more work, that's all. But I also think we'll get it perfectly this time. In fact, like I said before, since sucking those human pheromones from him will make his ghost ones unstable, we just might be able to weaken him enough to put him out of commission permanently! And when I mean, _permanently_, I mean as in, out of complete existence!"

But I don't want to just waste him right away! I want all his ghostly pheromones first!" Spectra objected. She then frowned when she saw Bertrand suddenly smile at her comment.

He saw her scowl but kept his smug smile as he replied, "Well, we can actually 'have our cake and eat it too' this time!"

The shadow ghost raised an irritated eyebrow at him.

He caught her drift and knew what she meant by that response. But at this point, he didn't care that it annoyed her when he used too many 'catch phrases'. He ignored her reaction and without losing his smile, continued, "His ghostly pheromones are, of course, our choice samples. But we can't have him at his normal power or else we might not be able to control him. So, we have to weaken him first, before we can harvest what we want. And, of course, we have to keep him in that weakened state to keep him under our control so that we can take what we want."

"Can you get to the point?" Spectra suddenly interrupted with a roll of her eyes.

This time he scowled in annoyance. "I'm getting to that!" he hissed, before continuing, "As I told you before, the Ghost Kid's ghostly and human pheromones are intertwined tightly to each other. We will have to pull them apart to weaken him, yet we can suck them all up once they're separated and still get all that desired effects from his ghostly ones. And once he's weakened enough, we can suck up his ghostly pheromones directly without separating his human and ghostly ones. It's just a little of a balancing act, that's all. We have to siphon enough to keep him weak and then we can get the big bang for our bucks just as we want. But, my earlier point is that after we suck him dry, we can get a bonus to it all: to get rid of him permanently!"

Spectra finally smiled after his explanation. But she commented, "Well, I'll want his pheromones forever, so let's keep that from happening for as long as possible…the 'sucking dry' part, that is. Still, it's good to know that we can permanently get rid of him, when the time comes, such as if he gets too hard to handle, or is totally useless to us."

Finally, Bertrand grinned in satisfaction.

Sarah's eyes widened with that comment, but she did not move from her position. But already, she couldn't help but be worried for this 'ghost kid' to which they were referring. And she wondered who that could be. It was very obvious to her that Spectra and her servant wanted him destroyed. She shivered at the thought.

Spectra, meanwhile, smiled in delight at their new plan.

But Bertrand wasn't through yet. "In the meantime, I have some good news! I did manage to scrape up a small supply of some choice pheromones. I couldn't resist it! Teenagers are always ready to break up their relationships!"

He pulled out the little machine and pointed out the vial. Its reservoir contained a light purple substance within it. "Of course, it won't last that long, but it's a start. And don't worry, I already had mine."

Spectra didn't respond to his last comment, but smiled as the lavender gas enveloped her.

* * *

School was way over and it was now a couple of hours after dinner. The two couples sat next to each other in Danny's room in complete silence. Tucker had asked Danny if he could bring Valerie with him when they had met up at their usual hang out time. Danny, of course, hadn't objected. But it was the first time since they spent more than fifteen minutes in each other's company, it even at school—as couples, that is. And, of course, it was also the very first time all four of them were in Danny's house as couples, even if they ended up being very uncomfortable with that.

Tucker was the first to brave a suggestion, "Does anyone want to go to a movie?"

"Naw!"

"No!"

"Na-uh!"

The tense answer from each of the other three was obvious. Still, Tucker pressed on, "How about going bowling?"

Danny shook his head; Sam shrugged and Valerie frowned. This time, all of them did so without a word.

"Then how about some video games?" Tucker suggested, trying not to get flustered. "I just got the new _Zombies IV_ game; and this time, I heard that all the kids get to blow up all their zombie teachers!"

But the other three just looked at him in dead silence.

This time, Tucker did get anxious and only addressing Danny and Sam, he whined, "C'mon, guys! We never had this much trouble before!"

Valerie immediately picked up on what he said and jumped to conclusions on what he meant by that. He was right! They—the three of _them_—never had that much trouble deciding what to do before; and that was because **she** usually wasn't with them.

Suddenly, she felt even more uncomfortable. She blurted out, "Uhm. Hey, Tucker. Danny. Sam. I think I need to get going! Not that I haven't had a good time, you know. It's just that it's getting late and I still haven't even thought about that lame paper Lancer assigned."

She then got up as she spoke and headed to the bedroom door. "Maybe we can get to together again tomorrow?"

Tucker immediately got up and followed her, saying, "Do you really have to go, Valerie? You just got here!"

But the fact was that they had all been here in either awkward silence or intermittent forced conversation for a little more than an hour.

Valerie and Tucker continued onward, leaving Danny and Sam in the room as they did. They reached the stairs and headed down them toward the entrance to Danny's home just as Valerie said, "That's nice, Tucker. But, yes, I do have to go. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for me to have come."

"Don't say that," he objected, just as they stepped out of the house. "It was a great idea! And about time!"

"But how come I don't get those same vibes from Danny and Sam?" she insisted, stopping when they were at the bottom of the outside stairs.

Tucker didn't answer her right away. He knew the real reason, of course. Sam was uptight about Valerie's being the 'Red Huntress'; and Danny didn't want to upset Sam by making his girlfriend be cheerful to Valerie when Sam didn't want to do that at all.

So, Tucker told a white lie. "They'll come around. Took me a while to adjust to them being a couple, too, you know. And I'm sure it'll take them awhile to adjust to us being a couple. So don't worry, OK?"

"OK, Tucker, if you say so," she replied with a weak smile.

He smiled back and asked, "Can I walk you home?"

"That would be nice, thanks!" she began, before a very strange noise suddenly eked out of her.

"What's that?" Tucker asked, frowning in confusion. He had never heard that before.

Now it was her turn to tell her white lie, "Oh, that?" she began with a nervous laugh.

"T-That's my new cell phone! Weird ring tones they have nowadays, huh? I'm sorry, but I gotta go. I'm sure this is important. It might be my boss calling me to do some 'extra work'. But it's just a little gho—I mean, I gotta go."

Tucker's frown turned into a weak smile. He was finally clued in with her last statement. That noise must have been her ghost alert going off. He replied, "Yeah, weird. Well, you better get going and answer it, K?"

He gave her a quick peck and turned abruptly on his heels and headed away from her. He wanted to give her plenty of distance between them so that she could answer her 'cell phone'.

He quickly returned to Danny's house. As he neared Danny's room, his shoulders slumped. He could hear the frantic talk between his two best friends. But he couldn't make out what they were saying. Finally, they startled when they saw him suddenly enter the room.

"Tell him!" Danny insisted under his breath while slightly jabbing Sam in her ribs.

"OK! OK!" she growled softly back, shooting an annoyed frown back at her boyfriend. She turned to Tucker and said, "Uh, Tucker, look. I'm sorry…"

But he gently interrupted her, "That's OK, Sam. Danny. I really kinda understand. It's just that, well, I guess I need to tell you both something. I'm getting, uhm, more serious about Valerie."

"We kinda already noticed that, Tucker," Danny replied with a weak smile.

"You did?" he said, his eyes blinking in disbelief. He, of course, like most people when they first begin falling in love, hadn't noticed the change in his behavior. "But why didn't you say something?"

Danny answered him. "Because we didn't want to pressure you, dude. We kinda understand all the craziness that happens when you finally realize that you got someone special right next to you."

He glanced back at Sam and she smiled and blushed.

"Oh," Tucker said before falling speechless.

The three best friends looked at each other, sharing a few more awkward moments before Danny spoke again, "So, anyhow, let's not worry about it too much, OK? Compared to all the other crazy stuff we've gone through together, this kind of craziness isn't too crazy, uhm, well, you know what I mean! We'll get through this without a sweat compared to everything else." He ended with smile, trying to make his friend feel better.

Agreeing with Danny, Sam simply nodded and smiled weakly at Tucker.

When Tucker saw their encouraging smiles, he smiled back and said, "Thanks, guys! I just knew that you would try to get along with her! And speaking of 'getting along', she said that she's gonna invite all of us to her sixteenth birthday party! And she say's it's going to be a surprise!"

"A surprise?" Danny began, confused. "I thought it was supposed to be the other…"

"Yeah, me, too," Tucker said, interrupting him. "But she said that she's only inviting us and she was the one who was going to give us a surprise!"

"_What's __**that**__ all about?"_ Sam immediately asked herself, her forehead unconsciously scrunching up. She couldn't even remember the last time she or her best friends were invited to a birthday party. Er, except for Danny's going to 'Dash's Bash' and all of them _almost _going to Paulina's _quinceañera_ when they were freshmen, but those didn't count. After all, those two jerks had agenda when they had invited them.

Still, Sam was still wondering if this was legit or not. If it were, it would be the first birthday party with _other_ kids since they were in elementary school. Not that it bothered the three best friends much anymore. It had been several years since they had 'formal' birthday parties. In fact, since they were eight. Before that, they had gotten used to their own very small parties. And when she said 'very small parties', she had meant that just the _three_ of them had attended each other's parties. Before that, they had no real party, because no one would come to their parties before the three best friends met. There was sorta of a good reason for that, and it was why they had become best friends in the first place.

She suddenly thought about their very first birthday party together. The one only the three of them attended. When they had just finished the last part of their year in kindergarten and were turning six. They had already found out that they all shared the same birthday. In the summer. June thirteenth to be precise. They found out in a hurry, especially when they got into 'real' school, that that was not a popular time to have birthday parties. Not when all the other kids were out forgetting about school with their wide open free time and rushed vacations just as school let out for the summer.

It didn't help that even in kindergarten, all three of them were not in the popular crowd. Danny was clumsy; Sam didn't like playing with girly toys; and Tucker was usually absorbed in one of his kiddie video games. Still, they somehow felt connected, sharing a very unpopular birthday and accepting each other's quirks because of it. So, in the end, they kept to themselves and when it was time to celebrate their birthdays, they had begged their parents to have their birthday parties with their new best friends.

And they had been best friends since.

Sam was pulled out of her thoughts when Danny asked, "When is it going to be?"

"In about a week. Don't know any other details, but I'm sure Valerie will let us all know soon."

"Are you sure she wants me to go?" Sam queried. "I haven't gotten an invitation yet."

"Sure she does, Sam," Tucker said with a frown. "She's probably going to send them soon. You know how busy she is."

"Well, no matter how we get there, it's about time! And I'm sure we'll all have a lot of fun!" Danny said with a smile. Then looking at his girl with a 'you-know-what-I-mean' kind of frown, he added, "And it'll give us another chance to roll with it all, huh?"

Sam frowned back at him, but said, "Yeah, Tucker. If she wants us to go, I'll come."

Danny then cheerfully piped in. "Good! Then it's settled! So, Tuck, how about you breaking out that new video game you just got?"

And all three best friends enjoyed the rest of the evening.


	15. Chapter 15 Changing the Course

**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS, everyone! And, really, we're supposed to celebrate Christmas for twelve days (which is WHAT the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' really means—They're the twelve days AFTER Christmas, **_**NOT**_** the twelve 'commercial' days **_**before**_** Christmas). So, Happy FIRST day of Christmas, even if my true love didn't send me anything but, well, love! Just some more interesting blather for ya just the same! And I still DNOAC except, of course, the ghost animals and the new human couple! SO, without much ado, here is Chapter 15 coming at ya! Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 15—Changing Course

The fiery, red blank eyes of the lynx finally ebbed, slowly revealing the brown, dazed eyes of the black wildcat. Derek drowsily lifted his head and looked around, instantly realizing that he was now in a cage. He looked down and his memory cleared at the sight. He saw not hands, but _paws.._. Then he glanced upward and saw Spectra. He jumped up and hissed, upset that he had let his wife and him be tricked once again.

"Oh, I see you're now awake, little kitty," the shadow ghost cooed. "And I'm sure you miss your little birdie!"

"Where is she?" he growled, exposing his fangs and claws.

"My, she does touch a nerve, doesn't she? That's good! And she's safe—for now—that is, as long as you cooperate!"

"How do you expect us to do that? You **lied** to us!" he snarled accusingly.

Spectra chuckled, not at all bothered by his anger. "Well, of course, I did! You should have listened to yourself and not agreed to go along for the ride at your wife's insistence. Oh, well, that's what you get for being so _trusting_ with anybody, huh?"

This time, the wildcat struck at the cage with his claws. He then hissed, "And you spied on us!"

"That's what I do best!" she answered with a wicked smile. "And I must say that Bertrand said that you and Sarah put on a good show! Even though you didn't succeed in breaking up the Foley kid and his girl or the Ghost Boy and his, it was still very enlightening and entertaining! And, since you probably don't know, Bertrand said you were so good with your last show at the school that you should put on an encore performance."

Derek had a vague recollection of what he had done. But it wasn't enough to _really_ know what the evil ghost was talking about. Still, Derek snarled and struck at the bars more violently this time. "You are deplorable!" he seethed, his ghostly breathing increasing with his ire.

But she wasn't in the least miffed by his reaction. Instead, she coolly shot back, "You know, you really should watch your temper. Losing control like that might be detrimental to the well-being of your tender wife."

The lynx immediately retracted his claws and, slowing his ghostly breathing, said with more control in his voice. "All right. I understand. Where is she?"

"Now, that is more like it!" she said, unconsciously licking her lips at her victory. "Oh, Bertrand!" she said in a 'sing-song' kind of voice.

Her assistant came in, toting the bird cage. Sarah was still rolled up in a little ball in the corner of the cage. Bertrand placed the cage on the table, near enough for the lynx to see into it.

"Sarah?" Derek cautiously called.

"Derek?" she answered, slowly raising her head up.

"Did they hurt you?" he anxiously asked.

"No, they did not," she sadly assured him and dropped her head again in depression.

"Well, not yet," Spectra piped in. "And we won't as long as you cooperate."

Derek grew angry again and seethed, "What do you want of us now? Have we not done all that you asked? And still you keep us here against our will? Why can you not just leave us be? I fear that you have already used us for such evil purposes. In heaven's name, what more evil would you have us do? Was not the humiliation of it for us enough for you?"

Spectra cackled, "Oh, my, such histrionics! I would have expected that from your wife!"

The lynx growled threateningly and Sarah buried her head more deeply into her bosom with her shame.

"You leave her out of this!" the lynx warned.

Spectra smiled once more, but it was not a sincere one. "Brave words, especially when both of you are in such an optimal position to threaten us!" Then she leaned toward Derek's cage so that she was looking straight into the wildcat's eyes. Her human teeth then morphed into fangs. She bared them threateningly, and narrowing her eyes with anger, growled, "But I haven't the _slightest_ intention to leave her out of this. In fact, she is now the key to my newest plans!"

She nodded to Bertrand and he morphed back into the large green wolf. Spectra then quickly opened the bird cage and reached for the dove.

But Sarah reacted as soon as she heard the creaking door of her cage open. She immediately gave the ghostly human hand reaching for her a hard peck, instantly drawing ectoplasm.

The shadow ghost recoiled at the sting, and Sarah quickly took advantage of the situation. She soared out of the cage. She avoided Bertrand's snapping jaws and headed straight toward the cage containing her husband.

"No, Sarah, get out of here!" Derek desperately yelled as his wife flew closer.

Though she didn't want to leave him, she obeyed him and veered away from his cage at the last second. And just as she began to climb upward, she was suddenly engulfed within a large purple ectoplasmic ray.

Screaming in pain, the dove quickly dropped out of the air from Spectra's assault.

"Sarah!" the lynx cried in horror as he watched his beloved fall right into the waiting jaws of the green ghost wolf.

The wolf snarled in delight with his catch. But the dove was unaware of her dilemma, as she had been knocked unconscious by the shadow ghost's blow.

"All right!" Derek desperately cried, frantically keeping his eyes on the green wolf. "I will do whatever you say! Just do not harm her any more, please!" Suddenly feeling the weight of his disgrace, he let his head fall.

"Now, I'm glad you finally listened to reason," Spectra cooed with a triumphant smile, just before floating over to Bertrand.

Derek lifted his head once more and watched as the female Spectre approached her assistant. His eyes widened in terror at first. Bertrand hadn't wanted to surrender the unconscious ghost bird. But Derek relaxed slightly when Spectra quickly gave his green muzzle a firm smack, and he promptly dropped the dove with an "Ow!"

Penelope, however, was ready, and caught the senseless enchanted girl in her hand just as she fell out of Bertrand's jaws. The shadow ghost promptly deposited the hapless dove back into her cage.

After securing the cage's door, she twisted violently back toward the lynx. The glare on her face was so evil that the wildcat unconsciously recoiled back further into his cage. She then seethed through her intimidating fangs, "Now that we understand each other, you will do **exactly** as I say or I will let whatever 'accident' that might befall your wife happen. I am sure you know that Bertrand would be delighted to do the deed. Do I make that **absolutely** clear?"

"Yes," the male ghost animal barely uttered. Then lowering his eyes, he hoarsely added, "I understand."

She smiled wickedly and said with a slight whine in her voice. "Perfect!" But suddenly, her voice became menacing. "And make no mistake that I **never** bluff." Then, just as sudden, she calmed, but her tone still had an underlying, threatening ring to it. "Now, Bertrand will fill you in on what needs to be done. And be sure to make it good! We will start tomorrow. But I warn you. Bertrand will be nearby the entire time, so don't think you can get away with anything, or else, Sarah will pay for your—how I shall I say it?—indiscretion."

The lynx nodded in submission and dropped his head in defeat.

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The next day started as a drab, cold one. The forecast, for once, had been right and called for snow most of the day. The sun should have come out at least an hour earlier, but couldn't because of the heavy, dark overcast. Eventually—-if only for a little while—- the sun managed to pummel the clouds enough to lessen the blackness, opening its dull eye through puffy grey eyelids as the uninviting day began.

Danny and Sam and Tucker and Valerie met up on their way to school. The conversation among the foursome was not as awkward as the day before, but it was not running smoothly, either.

"Uhm, you guys, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Valerie said, with a self-conscious chuckle. "I know that I should have sent out invitations by now, but I've just been too busy. I have more stuff to do at my job. You just don't know how much extra work I have now since that stupid Ghost Kid loused everything up."

Sam and Tucker tensed up because Valerie had made that last comment with sudden hatred in her voice.

But Danny tried to remain calm. He knew that it wouldn't do any good for them to object to what she had just said. They were still already having difficulty having any sort of 'normal' conversation among the four and arguing with her now would only make matters worst—and suspicious.

"We're sorry to hear about that," Danny finally said. "Must make it hard for you to have any free time."

"You don't know the _half_ of it!" she said, thinking that he was encouraging her. "If only…"

But hoping not to go into all that right now, Sam rudely interrupted her, "Uhm, you were talking about _invitations_, right?"

Valerie blinked a little in surprise at Sam's insistence, but said with a nervous laugh, "Oh, right! Right! Heh-heh. Got a little sidetracked! Besides, we really don't have that much time to go into all that."

Tucker quietly sighed in relief. He could tell that Valerie was trying to get along, because she normally would have breathed right down anyone's neck for interrupting her like Sam had just done.

Valerie continued with a weak, hopeful smile, "Anyhow, I know this is sorta last minute and all, but I would like you two to come to my party a week from Friday. Tucker's already coming."

Danny and Sam glanced at each other briefly, before Danny returned a smile to the dark-skinned girl. Sam, however, kept poker-faced.

"We'd love to," Danny finally answered for the two of them.

"Good. Then, it's settled," Valerie said with a relieved smile, just as the same noise that had escaped her the last time she was with Tucker suddenly sounded out from her again.

But this time, since he was just as near the ghost as Valerie, Danny's ice blue ghost sense also escaped from his mouth at the same moment.

"Oh, no!" Valerie suddenly cried in alarm and all three of the friends jumped in response. She didn't change the excitement in her voice as she continued, "I forgot Lancer's paper at home! Gotta go!"

Before anyone could say any more to her, she had dashed off, yelling, "See you at school!"

"Looks like it's time for me to go, too, guys!" Danny hurriedly said to his two best friends. "My ghost sense just went off and looks like that noise that came from Valerie must have been her 'ghost alarm'! There's got to be a ghost nearby! Meet you at school, too?"

"Well, how about we hang around in case you need help?" Tucker insisted, pulling out his futuristic PDA, the one he had 'inherited' from Skultech shortly before the Poisoned Ghost War and Danny's fight with his evil self.

Danny turned to Sam and she already had her Fenton wrist ray gun—the one she always kept in her boot—-on and ready. And both of his friends were grinning wryly.

Danny returned his own wry smile and said to them both, "Hey, I really think that it's great that being this prepared would put the scouts to shame, but since Valerie's involved, maybe it would be best if I handle it alone, OK?"

Sam and Tucker looked at each other, but didn't change their smiles. Tucker said, "OK, buddy, but if you don't mind, we'll stick around-—just in case."

"Yeah, you know how stubborn we can be," Sam dryly added.

Danny smiled slightly, showing them that he was pleased at their loyalty; but he didn't answer them. He quickly jumped into the bushes, morphed into his alter ego, and rocketed upward.

"_We'll be close behind. But be careful_," he heard Sam mentally say. "_Especially with Valerie on the loose_."

"_I will_," he quickly replied to her mind, just as he turned invisible and continued to climb higher.


	16. Chapter 16 Conflict in the Relationship

**A/N: Well, **_**it was about time**_** for some more action! Are you ready? I am! I've been sure itching for more action! So, here goes! BTW, some of this stuff is compliments of pearl84's own ideas. I thought they were mega-cool, and just want to keep spreading the 'news'. Remember the IDNOAC thing, and here is Chapter 16. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 16—Conflict in the Relationship

Danny maintained his invisibility as he flew upward. When he reached a height where he felt he could hover and survey the area, he stopped. He quickly turned on himself in mid-air, scanning a full 360 degrees for any signs of any ghosts—and Valerie. But he didn't find any ghost, or any sign of the Red Huntress. Getting a little discouraged that this appeared to be the second time his 'ghost sense' hadn't worked, he let out a drawn out sigh. But the young half-ghost couldn't have known that, in reality, by the time he had gotten up here, Valerie had already ridded the area of that particular encroaching ghost.

Then suddenly, he heard a familiar sound behind him. Valerie wasn't finished—yet.

He immediately reeled around and spied Valerie upon her hover-board, bearing down upon him. How had she detected him? He was still invisible! But an instant later, it was obvious that she **had** detected him. Two large red missiles had charged out from her, setting their deadly sites right on him!

He didn't know that she had sensed him with a special new radar that she had invented, one that allowed her to essentially 'see' invisible ghosts. Ironically, it had been Tucker who inadvertently helped her perfect it. She had told him it was for a new video game concept she was toying with in creating...something that Tucker knew she had shown an interest in pursuing in the future. So he had been more than happy to use his futurist PDA to help her get the bugs out of the program. If Tucker had only known what Valerie could now do with it, he would have not been so eager to help her fix the program for this newest device. With it, she could now see ghosts that were invisible.

And that included detecting _Danny _now!

"Oh, no!" the young hybrid muttered under his breath as he bolted away from the roaring rockets. But these weren't ordinary rockets. They were the 'ghost-seeking' kind of weapons; and they immediately corrected their course and chased after him.

The teen increased his speed, his legs quickly morphing into a grey translucent spectral tail as he did. He altered his flight path drastically, zigzagging erratically in an attempt to shake the missiles. But the rockets, blinking fiercely while locking onto their prey, immediately matched his speed and direction in spite of his efforts. They easily turned this way and that and didn't even hesitate in locating him again as they flew onward.

"Don't tell me. 'New and improved'," he grumbled under his breath as he poured on even more speed. But the missiles kept hot on his trail. After a few moments, Danny knew he had to put a stop to this. He concentrated and his grey spectral tail suddenly glowed anew, turning whitish-green as he poured on his supersonic speed.

Shortly after that, the pursuing weaponry had at last began to lag sufficiently enough behind Danny. Now confused, they finally slowed to a stop in mid-flight. A small antenna popped out of each of the rockets as they hovered, hurriedly searching for their lost quarry. Suddenly, two bright red buttons lit up on each of the missiles, and as if they were chattily confirming their scan with each other, they excitedly beeped their find.

But just before the rockets could alter their course, they were engulfed by a large blue ice beam as deftly as animals caught in an icy snare. Danny followed up those penetrating ice rays that had come from his eyes with a powerful green ectoplasmic blast from both of his hands, and his pursuers were instantly blasted to smithereens.

Hovering in satisfaction, Danny-who had remained invisible through the entire fight—rematerialized, and smugly dusted his hands off. No sooner had he done this when he heard a familiar noise. He reflexively jolted upward, barely missing the large red beam that he had heard coming his way.

"_That's what I get for being cocky,"_ he chided himself, as he shot more steeply upward once more, doing a quick back flip as he did. He righted himself, sighing in slight relief now that he had just avoided the red blur that had come up right behind the large red beam.

Meanwhile, Sam and Tucker were keeping their eyes glued to the scene above them as Valerie quickly and sharply altered her course. Whatever ghost that Danny had detected was obviously not important now that Red Huntress had set her sites on him.

Danny and Valerie soared higher above the two on the ground. Danny was trying very hard to avoid Valerie without hurting her; but she was right behind him, trying very hard to _make sure_ she hurt him. The Red Huntress growled in frustration when the Ghost Boy evaded yet another blast from her ghost weapon.

Danny increased his efforts, and she matched his with her own, determined not to lose him.

Sam hurriedly scanned the sky, desperately trying to think of something that she could do. Finally, she grabbed Tucker's arm and cried, "Tucker, hello! That's your girlfriend gunning for my boyfriend up there! **Do** something!"

Tucker gritted his teeth with apprehension. He knew he had to act, but froze in indecision. But before he could shake himself out of his hesitation, he and Sam heard a different—and bone-chilling—sound. They looked upward and instantly knew that Valerie's last blast had hit her mark. They saw a black blur rocketing downward, spinning out of control toward the earth. They knew that this was their best friend plummeting toward disaster.

Sam gasped in horror at the sight. She reflexively and frantically screamed to her boyfriend with her mind. _"Danny!_"

But he didn't answer her.

"_Danny!"_ she urgently yelled to him again, this time feeling a sharp pain from the mental pressure. Still, she mentally shrieked, _"Snap out of it!"_ Suddenly, she swayed, feeling slightly dizzy after her last effort.

"_Huh?"_ she heard him mentally—and groggily—utter the very next instant.

Sam still felt dizzy, but that was quickly replaced with shock at what had just happened. She _just_ _knew _that she had actually helped him jolt back into consciousness! She quickly dismissed her reaction; and concentrating even harder, frantically cried to his mind, _"You're going to crash!" _She felt woozy once more after that. Even still, she was certain that she had helped his mind clear just as surely as if she had physically helped him off the ground.

Not a moment later, the black blur turned violently back upon itself, making a makeshift—though unsteady—-'U-turn' in mid-air, just inches from slamming into the ground.

Sam sighed in relief when she saw that, though she immediately frowned afterward when she could tell that his flight was unbalanced. And she quickly gasped when she then watched the Red Huntress abruptly alter her flight path to pursue the escaping and still injured Danny.

"Tucker!" Sam yelled, grabbing her friend at the shoulders while still keeping her eyes on the Red Huntress. She gasped again when she saw another large red beam hit her boyfriend and his body instantly ricocheted from the point of contact. She shook Tucker, finally snapping him out of his funk, and cried, "You _know_ Danny's trying to keep from hurting her at all costs! **Help him**!"

Tucker bit his lip but immediately activated his PDA. He quickly pounded on it and a large blue beam shot out from his wondrous little machine, and effectively struck Valerie's hover-board as she pursued the hurling Ghost Boy with dark intensions to finish him off. It violently shuddered at the onslaught and instantly lost all power.

Valerie screamed as she suddenly dropped like a lead balloon toward the earth. She desperately banged at all of her control buttons as she fell, but the hover-board would not respond.

Tucker continued to rapidly push the buttons on his PDA as sweat instantly started to bead on his forehead at the sight. He steeled himself to concentrate as he watched from the corner of his eye as his girlfriend tumbled precariously and precipitously toward the unyielding ground.

But a moment later, a green beam from Tucker's PDA shot just below her, quickly expanding into a circle that looked ready to catch her like a ghostly trampoline. But instead, she plunged _into_ it; and before she knew it, the Red Huntress found herself floating inside the Ghost Zone, the lack of gravity safely netting her fall.

Then, almost instantly, another portal suddenly opened. She didn't question it and dove right into it. She gasped when she found herself behind some bushes in back of the school.

She sighed in both relief and defeat. She quickly activated the button that melded her battle gear back into her backpack. Thinking of her failure, she growled, "Darn it! That creep got away again!...But, I'd better make tracks to Tucker's locker before he notices that I've taken way too long to get to school!" She frowned with worry as she dashed to the front of the school.

Meanwhile, Tucker and Sam bolted toward the direction that they saw Danny's body careen.

"Danny!" Sam called both audibly and mentally, but he didn't answer to either of her calls.

While Tucker searched a nearby area, Sam combed the vegetation where she was, worriedly searching for her boyfriend. But he was nowhere to be found. Just as she thought that maybe they were in the wrong area after all, they came upon a large clump of bushes. Sam was about to suggest that they turn around in order to search another area when they heard those same bushes _groan_.

"Danny!" the girl said in relief as she plowed right into the bushes, with Tucker right on her heels.

She found her boyfriend in a small clearing among the bushes. He was in his human form and rousing from his encounter. While wincing in pain, and with his right hand already to his head, Danny slowly began to sit up just as she and Tucker got to him.

"Are you alright?" both of his friends asked at the same time as they squatted right down next to him.

"No! I don't think so," he said, wincing once more as he suddenly cradled his left arm. "I think I might have broken it. But give me a sec."

Just as he said that, he closed his eyes and concentrated. A bright blue aura suddenly enveloped him and Danny instantly felt the surge of strength and health pulsate through his body. He stopped rubbing his arm; and though still slightly dazed, said, "Yeah, I think _now_ I'm OK!" He moved his once injured arm around and it felt as good as new. He started to stand up and his friends helped him.

As soon as Sam had finished, she twisted violently back at Tucker. She then pointed her finger accusingly at their bespectacled friend and seethed, "There! Are you _happy_ now, Tucker?" Then pointing to Danny but still looking at Tucker, she hissed, "See what **your** **girlfriend** did? And you didn't do anything about it! You **didn't even care** what she did to him!"

Tucker's mouth dropped open at the accusation. But instead of saying anything, he quickly turned and darted away from his friends, both upset and angry over the entire incident. He was more confused than ever, and he suddenly was aware of the burning, nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that had been there since Valerie first shot at Danny. Sam, of course, was right, but he was still struggling with his conflict. He never wanted Danny to get hurt, and knew his best friend wouldn't hurt his girlfriend. Still, Sam was right again. He knew that Valerie as the 'Red Huntress' would be gunning for Danny for keeps. And _he hadn't_ reacted when Valerie did go after his best friend. He should have, but he didn't.

He jolted when all his conflicted thoughts of the past came tumbling down, especially, his next thought. Though he never meant for Danny or Valerie to have been placed in danger, he had allowed—-no, had practically _given—_his grudge-holding, ghost-hating-filled girlfriend _his_ _consent_ to almost waste his best friend! How could he have done that? And then the next thought made him shudder. How could he have feelings for a girl who would even _think _of doing that?

He gasped and bit his lip with that realization. But then, he was also suddenly aware of another problem…Or, if he was honest with himself, he would have to say he had _already_ been aware of this _other_ problem; he just could not bring himself to admit it, until now—-now that he was left with no choice.

Tucker's problem all along had been that he was caught in a conflicting web. For the longest time now—-and how he hated it!—-he had been caught in the crossfire of Danny and Valerie's turbulent relationship. Tucker's mind was in such turmoil from having to constantly balance his own actions between keeping Danny's secret safe and keeping the ruse up about his not knowing Valerie's secret. It was exhausting! And it was heart-wrenching…So, hearing Sam's accusation really cut right into the panting boy as he continued running non-stop to school.

Meanwhile, Danny, too, was upset at what had just happened. He understood where Sam was coming from, but he was still upset that she had been so harsh with their friend. He turned to her and keeping his voice steady, said, "You know, you didn't have to jump down his throat. I'm all right."

Sam shook her arms above her head and ranted, "But that's **not the point**, Danny! You could've been killed! And it was all because of that, **that girl**! If Tucker wasn't so involved with her, he could have prevented what happened to you. He knows that when she's in her 'Huntress' mood she could care less about Danny Phantom's demise! And if I wasn't there just now, he wouldn't have done anything to keep her from wasting you! I had to **make** him do something!"

Before he could comment, she threw her arms to her sides, fisting her hands so tightly that they trembled with her anger. "URGGH! That girl makes me so mad! She's no better than **a speck on the floor**!" She suddenly gasped at that last utterance, covering her mouth in dread. She knew _exactly_ where she had heard that last statement before. _From Jiva_! When that Spectre Princess had tried to control her after seizing her body.

She immediately bit her lower lip. Her shoulders drooped as she frowned in remorse. "I shouldn't have said that," she said more quietly, getting a hold of herself. She looked at her boyfriend and winced apologetically. "And I shouldn't have blamed Tucker," she added.

"Yeah," Danny gently said as he put his arm around her. He smiled weakly as he added, "One thing's for certain: that 'fierce loyalty' part of you can really get out of control! Not that I don't appreciate it, you know. But you should have extended it to Tucker as well. We've both put him in a bad situation and not done much to help him."

Sam bit her lip again. She knew he was right. "I know," she quietly said. Then, she continued, slightly grumbling when she did, "OK, then. I'll go and apologize to him."

"Thanks, Sam," he said as he gave her a quick peek on her cheek. He then unconsciously glanced at his watch and gasped. "OHMIGOSH! We'd both better hurry or we're gonna be late for school!"

He quickly morphed back into his ghost alter ego, and grabbing his girl, soared back toward the school.

In the meantime, Valerie had just about given up in waiting for Tucker, when she spied him nearing the school. But she frowned when she saw how upset he looked; and why _he _was just _now_ _arriving, _anyways?

"_That's weird. Something bad must have happened!_ _Maybe this isn't the best time to talk to him. I'll check on him later_," she thought as she quickly turned around and headed to her first class.

Her boyfriend went right to his locker and opened it with such force that its door had no chance to stick on him. He grabbed the first notebook he saw and slammed the locker tight on the first try.

He dashed to his first class, and as he entered his first class, he groaned when he realized he had retrieved an electronics catalog from his locker instead of what he needed.

He just _knew_ that this was going to be a very bad day.


	17. Chapter 17 Pinning Them In

**A/N: So, now is everyone over the holidays? Did you have a GREAT one? I hope you did! I certainly did, especially now it's time for an update!! And I hope you're enjoying the story. Hope you strap yourselves in and get ready 'cause more angst will be coming at ya real soon! Also, I always look forward to hearing your thoughts, so don't be shy, K? Anyhow, the New Year is going strong for this story, even though I STILL do not own any characters, except for you-know-who! Well, it's NOT my New Year's resolution to stop blathering, but it is time for Chapter 17! Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 17—Pinning Them In

Al and Armen had finally made up; in fact, sometime during the day before. When he had found her later that day, and had seen how upset she had been, he had begged her to tell him what was wrong. And when she had told him everything, he was mortified. Even though he couldn't explain it, he had been so chagrined about it that Al had calmed down. She had decided that Armen couldn't have possibly understood everything that had happened to him, so she gave him the benefit of a doubt. They were quickly enjoying each other's company again, readily allowing the earlier, practically day-old disaster to be forgotten.

But forgetting was not so easy for another. Tucker was feeling more and more upset as the morning dragged on.

And in the meantime, Sam was also getting more frustrated. She had told Danny she would apologize to Tucker for what she had said to him; but, so far, she couldn't. She was having a hard time getting to their friend. Even though they were in several classes together, he wouldn't even so much as glance at her during class and had darted quickly away afterward.

So, as the early classes seemed unending, Sam got more and more perturbed. She knew that Tucker was avoiding her, but she really wasn't angry anymore with him. She was picking at herself for what she had said to him. Still, it was almost lunchtime. She hadn't had a chance to breathe a word toward him; and she was getting even more aggravated.

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* * *

_

Meanwhile, Bertrand was a little relieved that this new day had finally come to the rescue. Yesterday had not only been a disaster, but Spectra had actually gotten surlier as the rest of that day had dragged on. The shape shifter had thought that Penelope had gotten over their first plan's being scuttled; but as she firmly confirmed, he had been wrong. He thought that their new "Plan B" would have put the female shadow ghost in a better mood, but she just kept rehashing and ranting about the events. Humph! And she had accused _him_ of histrionics! And just when he didn't think he could take any more steam that Spectra blew off about that disaster, he, thankfully, had retreated to his lair.

And, finally, it was the next day. Maybe Spectra would feel better if they could get right on 'Plan B'. The shape shifter hurried to Spectra's lair and arrived shortly--though it was still quite a bit of time before school was to begin at Casper High.

Spectra was in a much better mood after a night's sleep and she was eager to go through with their new plan. She and her assistant decided to go separately to the school. Bertrand was to leave first with the lynx in tow. Spectra wanted to keep the dove far enough apart from the lynx so as to discourage any attempts of escape that might present themselves should the lynx know that his wife was near the school. Spectra was also pleased to leave the lynx with the impression that she would be prepared and ready to pursue a vile punishment for his wife should he fail her.

As they headed toward the school, Bertrand hurriedly filled Derek in on what the enchanted ghost was supposed to do. Bertrand had also been sure to give the lynx and himself a good dousing of the de-ghost-a--er, ghost signature masking--concoction. This time, the shape shifter was determined to make this new plan of theirs work.

And this new scheme was quite simple. And really just a tweaking of their last idea. Derek would overshadow the same new boy Armen, and corner Sam again, feigning an intense interest in her. But, this time, Bertrand would overshadow the new girl Al just long enough to get her to the scene. Then, he would release her at the precise moment to witness Derek's deed, and let nature take its course.

Once Spectra was sure that the male ghosts had been given plenty of time to reach the school, she retrieved the dove, which was still in her cage. Giving the young ghost a sound command to keep silent, the female shadow ghost grabbed the cage and made her way to the school.

So, with Tucker's being upset with Sam, Sam's being upset with herself, and with the new boy and girl soon to be upset—period-- the plan seemed perfectly set-up—this time….

* * *

"Darn it! If I don't get this off my chest soon, I'm just going to explode!" Sam grumbled under her breath as she headed toward her locker after her third period. She twirled the combination lock move roughly than she normally would with her frustration.

Suddenly, she was aware of a presence behind her. She quickly twisted completely around so that her back was now against her still unopened locker. She frowned in irritation when she saw the overshadowed Armen looking dreamingly at her—but it didn't look natural at all.

"What do you want?" she growled. "I told you to take a hike the _last _time!"

Derek-within-Armen hadn't expected this kind of reaction and hesitated on what to say. After all, he had only a very vague notion of what he had done before because of Bertrand's potion. He glanced slightly sideways and saw Bertrand's penetrating stare in the near distance and swallowed hard. It wasn't his fault, of course, that he met up with a very upset Sam, but he had to keep her preoccupied until Bertrand's signal.

"I am sorry. I do not understand," he truthfully said, using Armen's own thickly accented voice as he did.

"Too late for that," Sam spat back. "Now, just get out of my way!" She pushed against him and effectively shoved him just enough away to go around him. She then turned abruptly back after her next thought. "And just what's with that fake accent of yours, anyway? Oh, never mind! Just _stay_ out of my way!"

She quickly turned and huffed away.

Derek again spied the glare of disapproval in all of the little ghost bug's eyes. He had better think of something—quick.

He hurried after Sam, and Derek-as-Armen, really not certain on what to do, grabbed for Sam's hand. Having successfully secured it in his grasp, he quickly spun her around so that she was now facing him again.

"Just what do you think you're doing, you creep?" the captured girl seethed, instantly attempting to pull her hand away.

But Derek wouldn't let go and said more insistently, "Please, Sam, forgive me! I could not let the day pass by any longer without begging you for your forgiveness."

This time, her face scrunched up in confusion. First, he was hitting on her; then just before this, he seemed to be doing the same, and _now_ he was begging her for her forgiveness?

"Look, I don't know what your game is, but it doesn't really matter, because I'm not going to warn you again to just leave me alone, got that?" she firmly replied.

"I can understand that!" he calmly agreed, surprising the girl once more. "I mean, I am so new here, I did not realize how rude I seemed at first." Again, this statement had come naturally from Derek, as it was the truth.

Sam eyed him suspiciously. Was he on the level or just setting her up again? And, still, it was that accent thing. Was he for real? But, he raised a good point and maybe hadn't really known what to say, only to have it all come out badly. She tried to give him the benefit of a doubt. "OK. I think I get you. But your really need to work on that part. The '_not_-being-rude' part, I mean."

Derek silently sighed in relief. He was delaying her departure as instructed by Bertrand. But then, he felt a knot of discomfort grow within him. He was still tricking this girl, but he had no choice. His mind was too consumed with thoughts of his Sarah. Those evil ghosts would hurt his wife.

In the meantime, satisfied by Derek's final success, Bertrand had quickly left the scene, found Al, and overshadowed her. He brought her over to where the overshadowed Armen and Sam now were. Spectra's assistant got the hapless new girl close enough to the scene so that she would be both hidden from the couple's view and still have the perfect angle of seeing what would happen next.

As soon as he thought this would be the perfect place to 'plant' Al, he relinquished his hold over her and made a beeline to one of Armen's ears.

"OK, Derek," the overshadowed boy heard as Bertrand whispered in his ear. "OK. Everything's set. Kiss her!"

"WHAT?" Derek uttered in disbelief through his human mouth.

Sam startled a little, as they had not, of course, been talking about anything that should have made him utter such a _loud_ –and random--response.

Bertrand repeated more firmly, "You heard me, big boy! _**Kiss**_ her!"

Derek frowned with Armen's mouth, but knew he had to obey. He suddenly grabbed Sam by her shoulders, pulled her tightly to him and gave her a big awkward kiss.

Sam's eyes widened in shock as the boy pressed his lips to hers.

Suddenly, the area they were in filled with two loud gasps: Al's and someone else's who had just walked into the scene.

* * *

"Hi, Tucker," Valerie said with a smile when she saw her boyfriend walk up to his locker just after their third period class. But she immediately noticed that he looked as upset as he did when she first saw him all morning.

And by the tone of his voice, and the fact that he didn't look at her, she wasn't the least bit mistaken. "Hi, Valerie," he barely mumbled.

"What's wrong, Tucker?" she asked with genuine concern.

"Nothin'!" he answered unconvincingly. "Gotta get ready for the next class, you know," he barely uttered as he turned his combination lock. He still didn't look up at her. He couldn't. He was too confused by all the emotions squeezing him: confusion, anger, disappointment in himself and his girlfriend, and regret. Regret for what she did to Danny and regret that he had let it happen. He was even surprised that he was struggling with regret for feeling sorry for her and wanting to help her a year ago.

Valerie frowned even more with worry. She had never seen him _this_ upset before. But she tried to make light of it. "Oh, is that all? Lamest class of all, huh?" she chuckled with embarrassment.

Tucker neither glanced at nor answered her. Having gotten the lock off, he proceeded to open the locker's door…only to find that it was stuck—again. He growled, frustrated with everything that had happened and yanked the door open with such force that it rattled loudly, startling Valerie.

Her boyfriend ignored her, grabbed what he needed, carelessly threw what he didn't need into his locker, and violently slammed the door, ignoring its echoing cry of protest. "Stupid locker," he grumbled as he violently spun his lock and promptly left...leaving Valerie behind.

Valerie, meanwhile, stood stunned. Did she just see her sweet boyfriend practically attack his locker? And then ignored her and left for class without her? Something awful must have happened!

She snapped out of her daze and hurried after him. She quickly closed the gap, and had just about gotten close enough to say something when he suddenly stopped right in his tracks. She was so surprised at his abrupt change that she ran right into him, accidentally shoving him. He slammed into the nearby wall and slid down to the ground with a groan.

Valerie winced, mortified. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Tucker!" she cried, as she helped him back up.

"That's OK," he barely mumbled under his breath as he turned away from her. "Forgot somethin' in my locker." He hurried away from her, leaving her behind…again.

This time, Valerie blinked in disbelief. What was happening? But this time, she hesitated and didn't follow him.

Tucker had just turned the corner nearest his locker when he abruptly halted in his tracks again. He gasped loudly and instinctively at the sight: Sam _was kissing_ that new guy!

* * *

In the meantime, Sam immediately resisted Armen, but he was too strong for her. As she looked upon him, she tried to pull away and her protesting yell was gagged by his kiss.

But Tucker didn't see Sam's reaction—and he didn't' know that she hadn't seen _him_--because he had turned immediately around and run off, completely floored at what he had just witnessed. It was already bad enough that she rode him about Valerie. Now she was sticking it to Danny?! What was with her?

Al, however, marched right up to Armen and Sam. But before she got there, Bertrand had been hovering near Armen and had just ordered Derek to relinquish his hold on the foreign boy. When the unfortunate boy came to his senses moments later, he immediately jolted away from Sam when he realized what he was doing. He stuttered in shock, "S-Sam, what are happening? Why are he here?"

Before Sam could give him her angry response, however, Al stepped right up to the goth girl, pulled her away from Armen, and hissed, "How dare you! Not only do you leave poor Danny hanging on your lease, but you go after him!" She pointed to Armen as she said that and the foreign boy cringed.

Sam got right into the girl's face and hissed back, "_He's_ the one who started it and grabbed me! He's _crazy_ or something! I didn't do _anything_ and I don't have to answer to you! I'm outta here!" She started off, making sure to give Armen a hard shove when she passed him. She then elbowed her way passed Al, hurrying as fast as she could to the protection of her next period's classroom.

Al turned violently back to the still confused Armen and cried, "I thought you liked me! And I can't believe that I liked you back, you jerk! I don't ever want to see you again, understand?" She quickly stormed off so that he wouldn't see her angry tears, leaving the very bewildered boy behind.

"Well, well, looks like we've stirred up this hornet's nest up pretty well," Bertrand chuckled smugly to the disconcerted lynx. "But I still have to make sure the main victim has been stung first. Let's go!"

The little ghost fly didn't wait for the disgruntled lynx as he flitted off toward the cafeteria. When they arrived at its entrance, Bertrand turned to Derek and said with bubbling conceit, "Oh! Now, before we get this thing all wrapped up, I'd better…." But he paused and frowned when he realized he had forgotten the most important thing: the little machine! He grumbled slightly, "Darn it! I knew I felt too light! Oh, well. I've got to hurry back and retrieve that little machine I left back at my lair. Tsk. That's what I get for thinking that this was going to be a great and flawless plan! Still, we don't want to miss the big opportunity when it all blows up in their faces, right?" he said to the morose lynx, not really expecting him to answer.

But his voice turned more sinister when he said to the wildcat, "You stay here until I get back, got that? Don't let anyone see you and then we'll do our last little trick. Remember, we have your sweet little Sarah!"

Derek merely glared at him, but Bertrand knew that the enchanted ghost would obey him. The little fly soared away in haste to retrieve the pheromone-sucking machine.

In the meantime, the black lynx scanned the area and saw a very dark corner on the far side of the cafeteria. But just before he started toward it, he frowned. He was so upset; it seemed as if his thoughts were burning holes right through him. If he and his wife were ever to get out of this mess, he would make sure that they flee from this wretched place and never return. But before he could start to fly toward the dark corner again, his ears perked up. Someone was nearing him! He quickly turned invisible and waited.

"I can't believe it! First all this mess with Valerie and now Sam! I'm not sure if I can take all of this!"

The lynx clearly heard what the red-beret-wearing boy had said as he hurried past the invisible ghost animal. Derek continued to track the boy as he headed to a classroom nearby. Derek startled at the sudden realization that had seized his mind. He somehow _knew_ this boy. He frowned, trying to bring up the memory. A hazy thought surfaced, but he was not certain of it. But he could not deny the gut feeling. This must be the boy that Spectra had made him and his wife stir up trouble with a few days before. He had not…directly been involved with this human…but with….the one for which he had feelings. He let his head fall in shame. He silently glided over to the dark area he had first spied.

He lay down in the shadowed corner, dropping his head right on his front paws. He was thankful that it was very dark here. He closed his eyes, suddenly aware of an oppressive feeling quickly overwhelming him. He was so sure that what he was feeling felt tangible, suffocating him as it did. He didn't fight the emotion, melding as easily into the murky despair now coating his mind as surely as his ghostly body melded into the cold, murky shadows.


	18. Chapter 18 Coming to a Boil

**A/N: Hello, everybody! Hope you've had a good week. I know it's been extremely cold for most of y'all—even down here in the good ol' South! So, I hope you kept warm; and right now, I hope you are sitting by a roasting fire, drinking hot cocoa, under a warm blanket, snuggling up with your…laptop…and reading this NEXT chapter! Things are going to be getting hot for all our heroes, starting with this chapter, and so, you should be set for the winter! Keep warm. Brrr, and, anyhoo, here is Chapter 18! Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 18—Coming to a Boil

Bertrand was gone longer than what Derek had expected. Considering that the wildcat had already made the trip himself, he was sure that it should not be taking this long for Spectra's assistant to return with his infernal little machine.

But, of course, the enchanted ghost didn't know that Bertrand had made an extra stop after retrieving the machine. The shape-shifter had wandered off towards his and Spectra's rendezvous place just outside Casper High, and had not hesitated in bragging about what had already transpired, relishing in all the succulent details. Bertrand had assured Spectra that from what he observed, he was certain that the time for the 'great divide' was imminent. He also had a strong feeling from the reactions of the other human couple—Tucker and Valerie—that it was very possible that they were also on the brink of separation, and he wanted to be ready to collect their pheromones as well.

Spectra, though glad at the news, sarcastically pointed out that all that wouldn't happen if he didn't get his little fly self back to the school. With a frown and a nod, Bertrand morphed back into his human form, pulled out the little machine to double-check that he had it, stuffed it back into his pants, and changed back into a fly. He then flew onward and entered the school.

In the meantime, Sam spent the rest of the morning still upset about what had happened between her and Tucker that morning, and more recently, all this new stuff about Armen. She really needed to talk to Danny right away about it, but couldn't until lunch.

Similarly, Tucker spent the rest of the morning now upset with Sam. Not only did she peeve him about Valerie, but now she had gone way over the top about Danny. He wondered if he should tell his best friend about what happened or confront Sam. However, he really didn't want to do either of those. He was so distressed, that it never occurred to him to ask himself why Sam had done that; and that there just had to be something _wrong_ in all of this!

The morning dragged for Valerie as well. She was worried about Tucker. She still couldn't understand why or believe just how upset he was. When she glanced over at him in the next few classes, he wouldn't look at her and looked even worse. She just had to talk to him somehow, because he obviously was so upset that he hadn't even wished her a 'Happy Birthday' yet!

In another classroom, Al wasn't having the greatest of days herself. She had spent the rest of the morning seething over Sam, blaming her for luring Armen away from her. She also couldn't bring herself to even looking at the Croatian boy, and avoided him like the plague, even though he made every effort to approach her.

The rest of the morning was a confused blur for Armen. He was beginning to think that something was seriously wrong with him, and felt very helpless about the entire situation. And he was even now regretting his family's decision in coming to this country. Maybe the pressures of all the change were finally getting to him. He understood that Al and Sam were upset with him, but he couldn't explain how—and why- he had gotten them upset—but then again, he couldn't do that for himself, either. And since neither of the two girls would let him come within an inch of them, he couldn't even begin to try to find out what had happened to cause him to do….that. But he was particularly upset that Al wouldn't even look at him.

As for Danny, he spent the rest of the morning participating in his two classes, oblivious to everything that had happened—well, except for Sam's getting mad at Tucker. But he knew that since Sam said she would smooth things over with Tucker, all should be well by now…

Finally, the bell rang for lunch and just about all the kids tangled up in Spectra and Bertrand's web were headed to their lockers. And as if things couldn't get worse, they were about to get tied up against something even more distressing, something that had been bottled-up and was now brewing under pressure. That, too, of course, had been set up by that certain evil ghostly duo. And that time bomb had its fuse just about spent, and the explosion was about to commence, right there in the main hallway…

Al was determined to tell Danny all about his cheating girlfriend again, now that she had even more evidence. She caught up with him as soon as they had gotten out of class.

"Look, Danny, I'm sorry about yesterday," she began, steeling herself. "I was just upset about everything. I guess I was hoping for something between Armen and me that wasn't meant to be."

"That's alright, Al. I can understand that. Sorry it didn't work out for you," Danny said, only trying to be polite. That would explain a lot about how spazzed out she was yesterday.

"Yeah, me, too, she replied, but then her voice grew colder. "But then, things might not work out for others, if they just knew the truth, that is. Or maybe you do. Anyhow, I can see that you've been so open-minded and understanding about it all, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked her, again surprised by her change in demeanor. He was beginning to think that she was going to go on top of his list of 'Things to Avoid'.

Before she could respond, Tucker came up to them. But he hadn't seen either of them, yet. He was still so down in the dumps, he had been looking at the floor as he approached them.

When Danny saw him and noticed how troubled his best friend looked, he immediately asked, "Hi, Tuck! What's going on?"

"Nothin," he said with a slight grumble, barely glancing up. He was so depressed, he just couldn't look his friend in the eyes right now. He hadn't even noticed Al yet because Danny was blocking his view of her.

Shrugging a little in confusion, Danny then turned back to the girl and said, "Sorry about that, Al. And I still don't know what you're talking about."

This time, Tucker looked up and gasped. "You!" he shouted, immediately recognizing the girl as the one that had flirted with him and almost caused him trouble with Valerie.

Al looked at him oddly and replied, "You _know_ me?"

"_Know_ you? Yesterday, you practically made a sandwich out of me—with me in the middle of you and my locker, that is!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the girl immediately growled, totally shocked at his comment.

"Of course you do!" Tucker challenged, unconsciously gritting his teeth.

"Look, whoever you are, this is the first time I've ever talked to you, so you must be mixing me up with someone else!" Al insisted. She hadn't realized that her breathing had begun to increase as she began to lose control and her anger began to come to a boil.

But Tucker protested, "I'm not mixing you up with anyone! But, if you don't want to come clean, fine! Just keep away from me! I'd much rather…"

Al interrupted him with a gasp when she noticed Armen approaching them. She bolted right away from the flabbergasted boys. She immediately shoved the poor foreign boy and seethed, "I told you that I don't want to ever see you again!"

"Pleeze, Al. I do not understand. I need my—your—help!" he pleaded desperately.

Danny and Tucker caught up to the arguing couple just as Al angrily hissed. "Why don't you ask _**Sam **_to help you? You both seemed to be doing just fine in the 'lovey-dovey-bonding' department just a few minutes ago."

Danny couldn't believe what he just heard and said, "Hold on! Somebody tell me what's going on here?"

"I'll tell you what's going on!" Alice suddenly seethed, turning on Danny this time. Jamming her finger at him, she growled, "Your so-called 'girlfriend' Sam has been playing you as the fool! She not only put a mark on my guy, but she kissed him not more than five minutes ago!"

Danny frowned, having enough of dealing with this obviously unstable girl. "Look, Al, I don't like…"

"Uh, I saw Sam kiss him, too!" Tucker blurted out and then immediately put his hand in his mouth and bit down on it when he saw his best friend's eyes widen in shock.

Armen just stood by, totally speechless, but Al added indignantly, "See! I told you! And I wasn't lying the first time, either!"

Suddenly, Danny wondered why Al would tell him a story like this a second time. He had believed Sam over her the first time Al had come to him with this 'lie.' But, now, he could see that the new girl looked genuinely upset with the new guy about this. And now Tucker…Tucker had told him the same thing…. _He_ wouldn't lie to him about something like this!'

"W-What?" Danny finally stammered, feeling his heart drop to his feet. "Something's not right here, Tucker. Tell me that there's been a mistake!"

Danny grabbed his friend by the shoulders and made Tucker look him in the eyes. "Sorry, dude, that's what I saw." His friend confirmed as he dropped his eyes to the floor again.

Danny's eyes widened even more and he gasped. He didn't want to believe it. He _wouldn't_ believe it. He looked at the foreign boy and frowned in confusion. That kid looked like someone who had just been run over by a train. And, in effect, Armen _had_ been railroaded. But at this point, Danny didn't care.

Suddenly, Danny growled at the foreign boy, and Armen knew right away that no one wanted him there, _especially_ not the glaring boy. Instantly, the new kid turned around, and left as quickly as he could, trying to keep himself from really losing it...

Danny's eyes darted back to Al and then to Tucker again, his mind racing non-stop. He had to find Sam—now! But he was too upset to even think about using his telepathic powers to search for her. Without saying another word to either Tucker or Al, Danny twisted sharply away from them and bolted toward the direction from which Sam would be coming after leaving her last class.

Tucker watched Danny leave and felt like a total heel. He had only made matters worse. He didn't say another word to the girl next to him and left...

Al just stood there, unable to move or prevent her angry tears from falling.

Meanwhile, Sam was headed right toward her boyfriend, but had not yet seen him. As she made her way toward her locker, she grumbled under her breath, "If I just so much as **look** at that Armen, I swear…." She suddenly stopped when she saw her boyfriend. "Danny!" she yelled as she quickened her pace toward him.

But the instant she reached him, he just grasped her by her arm and commanded, "C'mon!" He didn't give her a chance to say a word as he pulled her into the nearest closet, transformed into Phantom, and soared upward and to the back of the school.

Just as they landed, Danny turned to face her and demanded. "What's all this about you kissing that new guy?"

Sam looked at him in shock, but instantly rebounded, and with an irritated frown, firmly replied, "**Me** kissing him? **He** kissed me! I didn't expect it all, Danny! One moment he was apologizing for that other incident I told you about, and then the next, he grabbed me and kissed **me**, I swear!"

"So, it's true, then! But Tucker told me **you** kissed him!" he hotly countered, unconsciously fisting his hands.

"Tucker? Just let me get my hands on him! I haven't been able to talk with him at all since this morning and he's probably still upset with me about Valerie, and…"

"And he wouldn't get back at you like this or any other way, Sam, and you know it!" Danny firmly interrupted her. "He's not the revenge-scheming type!"

"And neither am I, uh, darn it! I mean, I'm not the cheating type!" she growled back, this time getting into his face. "I know Tucker probably thought I was kissing that guy, but he's **wrong**, Danny! Simple as that! I swear that jerk hit on me before I could do anything about it. Something's very wrong with all of this! That guy's just acting so weird and I don't know why he's doing this to me!"

"Well, Al said…" he adamantly countered, still not satisfied with her response.

Sam could feel her breathing increase and the blood rush to her face. "Al? What's _she_ got to do with this? Don't tell me that she told you that I was trying to take her guy again when I'm **not** taking her guy and am **not in the least **interested in taking her guy? Man, those two are totally weird and deserve only each other! But I tell you, if I see either of them anytime soon, I don't know what I'll do to them!"

Seeing her flushed face just made him think she was holding something back. His face then also flushed as he grew more irritated with that thought. His voice tensed as he insisted, "Is that because they might still make you face the truth?"

"I can't believe you just said that!" she gasped, her eyes widening with both anger and distress. "And if you think I'm still lying, then I don't have to hang around getting blasted any longer!"

She turned to go, but he grabbed her hand with his gloved one and pulled her back. "We're not finished!" he growled.

"Yes, we are!" she growled back, still panting with her anger. Still, for some reason, she didn't try to yank her hand away.

Danny blinked at her captured hand and then back at her. He finally got the drift how very upset they both were over this whole thing, and that things were definitely getting more heated. He didn't like that. And he didn't like how he was expressing himself! But he felt so… _conflicted _ that he couldn't keep it from forcing the wrong words out of his mouth—or acting so brashly!

A sudden thought of how they could totally resolve this without further hurting each other hit him squarely. He was certain _that _would clear up any doubts. After all, it helped them in the past to make certain that what they were saying and feeling would not be misunderstood by either of them—well, for the most part. It still wasn't perfect, but then again, neither were they.

Finally calming a little with that thought, he looked at his still fuming girlfriend. Would she go for it with how angry she still was? Biting his lip, he decided to chance it. It had never failed them before. He let go of her hand. He didn't want to say anymore. It would come out wrong.

Sam's glare faltered when she felt Danny release her hand**. **She unconsciously stepped back from him. From how hurt she felt, she didn't want to draw nearer. She also thought—wrongly—that he was too angry to do the same. But he had no right to be! And he shouldn't have grabbed her. Those thoughts just made her irritated again and she immediately hissed, "You had no right to…."

"_Sam…,"_ she suddenly heard in her mind, and she gasped.

Danny closed his eyes for a moment as he continued. _"I know we said we would first ask each other for permission before doing __**this**__, but, I don't trust my voice right now. I need you to understand, Sam. Can't you feel how this whole thing makes me feel?"_ he asked her mentally, before opening his eyes, and looking at her with a hurt look.

Realizing what he was trying to do, she dropped her head a little, and scrunched her eyes shut, trying to concentrate. It was hard at first, but then, she succeeded.

Danny was still concerned. He knew from the way she had shut her eyes that she was even more upset than he thought. Still, he sighed and closed his eyes once again.

"_I feel as upset as you, Danny!"_ she replied back to his mind. _"Don't you see that_ _that new girl's a loon? She doesn't know us at all! And you're gonna believe her over me?" _Unknowingly, she mentally pulled away in exasperation when she had said that; and, yet, her body had not moved an inch and her eyes still remained closed.

"_But Tucker_…" he countered, having felt her mental withdrawal, and suddenly feeling worse.

"_I know, I know! And I agree with you about him! He wouldn't tell you that kind of stuff out of spite. But hear me out!"_ With that, Sam proceeded to mentally tell her boyfriend everything that happened. And Danny knew she was very upset when she hashed over what had first happened with Armen and her again.

He knew that Sam usually didn't bring up past problems or incidents. She liked to move on and forget about things that had upset her. She **wasn't** the grudge-holding type. But the fact that she brought up the whole 'Armen scene' again with such passion just confirmed to him how upset and hurt she was over this entire incident.

But as she ranted on, he could even feel that her anxiety was no so much over the incident, but mainly due to the fact that he hadn't believed her at first. She didn't mention it at all, but he just _knew _this was true. He also now knew that she wasn't lying in the least, and he regretted doubting her once more.

Still, Danny was just as confused as she about this whole thing. What was in it for Armen and Al? He quickly threw out that thought, realizing that getting through this with Sam was his first priority.

But the instant he got rid of that thought, the green-eyed boy was suddenly aware of another. His girlfriend hadn't _reacted_ to his last musings. He then wondered if most of their thoughts were still private. But he didn't want to waste any more time thinking about that any more.

Instead, he was more concerned about trying to soothe his girlfriend. He really had hurt her. And he needed to apologize to her in _every_ way that he possibly could. He finally opened his eyes, and spoke once more, but also, kept his link with her open, so he could also make her _feel_ he was being honest.

"OK, Sam, I'm sorry! I believe you!" he assured her, her eyes quickly opening at hearing his voice again. "And you're right! I should never have doubted you! I think **that** hurt you worse than what happened; and I was a jerk to even think it! Now, could you please try to calm down?" he asked, trying to comfort her mentally at the same time. But Sam was still in a defensive mood, and she didn't immediately hear his apology.

"Calm down? I **am calmed** down!" she yelled back, unconsciously moving completely away from him and fisting her hands to her sides again. But then, she paused, finally comprehending what he had said. And she suddenly realized why she had gone on and on about this. He was right. It wasn't the incident. She was hurt, hurt that he had not believed her.

She jolted a little at her next sudden thought. Jiva had been _right_! Opening your feelings _did_ make you vulnerable to…hurt.

Still, Sam knew that hurt came along with the territory of working through relationships. Then, she had another, even stronger feeling that she knew was true from this connection she had with Danny. Something she may not have gotten from him had they just tried to talk it out. He _understood _how she was feeling. And that meant more to her at this moment than the hurt. She began to calm down.

Since they still had their link opened, Danny's mind jolted a little at her mental onslaught that had come right after her last verbal assault. He couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Whoa, Sam! I'd really hate to hear your thoughts when you're **really **upset_!"_

But she didn't laugh back. He _hadn't_ heard her thoughts on Jiva! Otherwise, he would not be smiling right now. And, though slightly relieved that some of their thoughts were still private, she wanted to cry. But she steeled herself. She was still hurting, but she wanted to move on. She felt relieved that he understood, but she still stung. Suddenly, she heard herself tersely say to him, "Well, OK. I'm not upset anymore, so let's just forget about it, OK?"

But he frowned with concern when he could tell that this time she didn't mean what she had said. And she hadn't calmed totally down. Then he had a strange feeling, like they suddenly weren't connected anymore. But he didn't think that was true. Had she maybe blocked her thoughts from him? But, again, he understood. They had both felt strongly about this whole thing and probably messed up their connection a little. Still, there was more. He knew that she made herself go into her 'old Sam' mode or else she would lose control. But he didn't want her in the 'old Sam' mode. He lowered his eyes to hide his sadness, but still reached for her hands and gently squeezed them.

She, in turn, looked down at what he was doing. She sighed when he was playing with not only her hands, but also the ring he had given her. She knew he was sorry, but she still had not fully gotten over it.

He then gently pulled her closer and with a couple of soft pecks on her cheek, silently and gently begged in her mind, "_I'm sorry I hurt you_. _Now, can we forget about it all_?"

She barely managed a weak smile, but nodded a little.

He then cupped her chin gently in his hands and leaned over. But before they could kiss, they suddenly heard a very loud and angry voice scream, "Get away from that kid, you ghost scum!"

That comment was immediately followed by the sound of an ectoplasmic blast, which hit Danny in the side. The force of the blow thrust him violently into a nearby tree. He slid down it and hit the ground with a hard thud, stunning him.

But his attacker didn't follow up attacking him again right away; she had frozen in shock.

At first, Valerie had believed that the Ghost Boy was accosting one of the students. But she couldn't see who. Still, it didn't matter, because, then, she was sure he was about to _kiss_ that student! And _that_, of course, was _totally_ unacceptable! But what had left her gasping was finally seeing_ that student_ in plain view.

Locking a shocked glare at Sam, the Red Huntress choked out, "YOU?"


	19. Chapter 19 Snags and Disentanglements

**A/N: Remember when I said things were going to get hot from now on? Well, I kinda lied! This chapter just wanted to be told here. And since I'm such a sucker to giving into the demands of my chapters, here it is! But don't forget that the Red Huntress has just shot Danny and has uttered as shocked, "YOU!" to Sam after finally recognizing Sam as the kid with Phantom. Here is Chapter 19 with the IDNOAC stuff. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 19—Snags and Disentanglements

Sam was angry at what had just happened to her boyfriend; but, of course, she couldn't let on to Valerie that she was upset about what the Red Huntress just did. And she definitely could not let on that she knew that it was Valerie under that red suit.

Instead, she immediately put on a 'the-jig's-up' kind of face, pretending that she had just been caught doing something bad. Still, she knew that Valerie would expect her to be on the offensive; and she was _more_ than ready for that, especially since Valerie had not only hurt Danny, but had also screamed out with such vile just now.

"Yeah? What _about_ me?" Sam defiantly hissed, thrusting her hands on her hips and narrowing her amethyst eyes at the huntress. Internally, however, she was very worried about Danny and she threw a quick side-glance to where he had been thrown, before glaring at Valerie once more, ready for any retort the huntress might come up with.

But Valerie didn't answer her and turned to face Phantom again. She gasped when she found that he was no where in sight.

Fortunately, Sam's distraction gave Danny enough time to recover from his hard introduction to the tree. He had instantly turned intangible and had phased through the ground.

Valerie turned back around to confront Sam and jolted once more. Now Sam was gone!

But, of course, Valerie didn't know that Danny had almost instantaneously phased back out of the ground, grabbed his girlfriend, made her intangible and phased back underground before Valerie had a chance to look back at Sam.

The Red Huntress continued to hover in the spot where Sam had been, blinking in disbelief. She asked herself, "What was _Sam_ doing with Phantom? They did look like they were….were going to kiss when I interrupted them! I don't get it! What does this mean?"

She flew away, very confused about the entire situation.

When Danny and Sam finally rematerialized, they were in one of the small underground caverns. Danny lit up the area with an ectoplasmic energy orb.

"Are you all right, Danny?" she asked, her face lined in worry.

Just seeing her expression and that her first concern was for _him, _Danny knew she was no longer upset with him. He wiped any and all of his suspicions totally away.

"I'm fine, now that you're here with me," he said as he gently took her into his arms. "And where were we before we got so rudely interrupted? Oh, yeah, I was just about to apologize. I'm sorry I ever had one little doubt."

He leaned down toward her and softly kissed her.

And Sam felt the hurt completely roll off when she could tell from his kiss how sincere he was. She reached for him and returned the kiss, quickly allowing herself to forget that all those bad things had ever happened. And as they continued, she felt herself blend right into the warmth emanating from his green energy orb that embraced her as gently as his warm lips and arms.

When they parted, Sam said with a wry smile, "Well, looks like Valerie's going to think I'm cheating on you, too!"

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled a little. "I guess that _every_ couple has its days when people want to test them with all sorts of fireworks."

"As long as they don't blow up our relationship, then let 'em rip," Sam quipped back.

They smiled warmly at each other and then Danny glanced at his watch once more. "Oh-oh! We'd better hurry back and get those two bites of lunch we only now only have time for before the next class!"

"You're right, Danny! Just as well. It's the mystery red stuff day for you and overcooked spinach for me, so two bites will actually be too much!"

They both laughed before Danny wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, turned them both intangible, and soared up to the school once more.

* * *

For the rest of the day, however, the fuses to even more fireworks were lit and on a slow burn.

Al was still upset with Sam; Tucker was still upset with her as well; and now Valerie had joined their ranks.

As for poor Armen, he was the most troubled of them all. Having lost so much conscious time in the past couple of days--and still totally clueless of how it all happened—had him rattled. He just hoped he could get through the day without any other incident--and with his sanity.

The only ones not in a tizzy were, of course, Danny and Sam, though Sam could somehow feel the tension among those already upset with her. Still, she tried to slough it off. After all, she hadn't done anything wrong—well, not counting her reaming out Tucker about Valerie—and they would get over it.

But as the day wore on, Sam couldn't ignore the negative vibes she kept getting from Tucker any longer. It bothered her so much, she grumbled with her next thought. It was time to corner him and apologize to him about her comments she had made about his girlfriend. After all, she had promised Danny she would. She looked for him between classes, but couldn't find him, now definite that he was purposely avoiding her.

She finally met up with Danny at the beginning of one of the few classes they had together. And he could tell she was very frustrated. She mumbled under her breath, just as they headed into their class, "I can't believe I haven't been able to apologize to Tucker and…"

"Sam..," he gently chided her. He knew she was uncomfortable about that, so maybe she hadn't tried…

But she inadvertently answered him, "I really, really tried the whole friggin' day, but I just didn't get the chance! Honest!"

He chuckled a little and said, "It's OK, Sam. I believe you!"

She smiled weakly and then they sat down at their desks.

* * *

Finally, it was time for Sam's last period class, and her last chance to catch Tucker. But it didn't look like that was going to happen, either. After stewing throughout the class when she still couldn't get Tucker's attention, she made it a point that she was going to get him after class no matter what.

Getting to Tucker had become the focus of all of her concern again especially since her argument with Danny had been a mega-distraction. Still, for all practical purposes, she had now forgotten the 'Armen' affair. Once she had smoothed everything over with Danny, she hadn't wanted to expend any more energy on worrying about all the craziness that had happened about the foreign boy. She quickly—and decisively--dismissed the incident from her thoughts—along with all the emotional turmoil it had caused her. And now that _that_ snag was gone, Tucker had become the other important issue. That worry had now been nagging her as much as it had been _before_ her and Danny's blow-up. If she had to wait any longer to resolve it, she knew she would just lose it.

At last, the dismissal bell rang and Sam made a beeline to Tucker. "Hey, Tucker," she said, clearing her voice as she did. "Got a minute?"

He looked at her not knowing what to say. But she didn't give him a chance to refuse. Grabbing his arm from behind, she pulled him to the nearest vacant corner just outside the classroom.

She let go of him and sighed, trying to steel herself.

Tucker, meanwhile, didn't make eye contact with her at all. He was not only still bothered with how she had treated him and Valerie this morning; but he also was even more upset with how she had treated Danny with the whole 'Armen' thing. But he was so troubled, it didn't occur to him to ask her why. Still, he didn't know at this point that she had already seen Danny and they had already resolved that issue. And, of course, Tucker didn't know that she knew he had seen her kissing Armen.

Tucker was so distressed about everything that he really didn't want to talk with her at the moment. Yet, he managed to mumble, "So what do you want, Sam?" But his voice definitely sounded irritated.

Totally catching his drift, she resisted the urge to throw some stinging words back at him. Instead, however, she stammered, "L-look. I was, uhm, way out of line and…" She paused and swallowed hard before continuing. "I was way out of line insulting you this morning….And Valerie." But she had not done a good job in masking her continuing distaste for Valerie as the 'Red Huntress' when she had said her name.

Tucker caught that last bit of her sarcasm and looked up in surprise. Even though the way she said Valerie's name still stung, that was _quite _a bit of apologizing his friend just did. He knew she was sincere, but that still didn't solve his problems. He could tell she still didn't like Valerie, and there was still the issue with the new boy in the school.

Sam just looked at him and began to panic. Why didn't he say something? She finally said, "Uhm…."

But he interrupted her. "But, what about…" But he couldn't continue with that train of thought. His mind was too befuddled with all his failure to be honest with Valerie; and that had thrown him way off balance when it came to being honest with his friends.

Instead, he added with an unconvincing smile, "I mean, it's OK, Sam. I understand. Really. So, let's just forget about it, OK?"

Sam was so relieved! She was able to get her apology out without screwing it up too badly, and still succeed in getting Tucker to understand and forgive her. But, she had been so wrapped up in feeling that relief, and even being emotionally drained from all that had happened to her today, that she hadn't noticed that he was _still_ upset. She grabbed him in a quick hug and said, "Thanks!"

But just as she did that, who should round the corner on her way to her locker just in time to witness Sam's hugging some boy? Why, Al, of course! But she could not see that it was her friend Tucker whom she was hugging.

"Why, that little witch!" the new girl grumbled under her breath, immediately turning away from the scene with disgust. "Now she's after _another_ guy! That's enough! She obviously wants to play all the boys!" She angrily shoved her hands into her pockets and winced when one of her fingers jabbed against something firm within one of them. She frowned in remorse at her next sudden thought. _"And especially my poor Armen! How could he __**possibly**__ understand most of what she had said and done to him—literally?! Oh, I should have known better than that and not have treated him like dirt! Oh, please let him forgive me for all that!"_ Knowing that both she and Armen had a free period right now, she quickly ran off to search for the Croatian boy.

She finally found him all alone, sitting on one of the lunch benches in the empty cafeteria. He was turned away from anyone coming into the room, and had his face in his hands. The blonde girl bit her lower lip in regret, and tried to slow her breathing. She also slowed her pace as she approached him, hoping that that would help her compose herself as well. If he saw her like she was right now—puffing, flushed and disheveled--after running all over the school trying to find him, she just knew he would think she was still angry at him.

She succeeded in both controlling her breathing and nearing him without his noticing her. Nervously giving her hair a quick and blind primp, and wiping off her sweaty brow, she stepped as close as she thought she should and quietly cleared her throat.

But much to Al's chagrin, she startled the boy and he jumped up, twisting around to see who--he wrongly thought--had hissed at him. When he saw it was Al, and that her face was still red, he immediately threw up his hands as if in surrender. He was so anxious over everything that had happened today, he blurted out exactly what he was feeling, but not exactly in the way he had thought, "_Al, to je vama! Molimo, nemojte se ljutiti sa mnom! J-Ja ne mogu objasniti što se dogodilo, ali nisam znači da to napravite. Ja mislim da sam luda ide! Nema tijelo će mi vjerovati, pogotovo vama! __Ja želim da mi vjerovati! Molim vas!" (__**1)**_

She blinked at him, totally, of course, at a loss at what he just said. She bit her lip again, not wanting to embarrass him about this newest blunder. Then she got an idea. The thing she had just jammed her finger on! She quickly pulled out the small book from her pocket and began to flip the pages.

Speaking haltingly in her thick and halting _American_ accent, she replied, "_Ja..ispri-čavam… se za sve. Znam.. trebali.. znati.. bolje. Ne.. mislim… si.. učinio krivo…Učiniti krivu. Bio.. sam pizdun!_"(_**2) **_She then uttered, "_Pizdun_! Jerk! That's the word!" But then, she continued, "_Oprosti mi_?"(_**3)**_ She ended with a weak, hopeful, smile.

He responded with his own weak smile, both relieved and especially touched on the way she had apologized. He quietly asked, "_Oprosti mi_?" (_**4)**_

"_Oprosti… obje_!"(**_5) _**she answered, frowning sincerely in repentance and embarrassment.

She motioned for him to sit down. When he obliged her, she sat down next to him. She hesitated, but then made her decision. She nervously slid her hand into his, and smiled weakly once more in hope when he didn't pull away. She finally continued in English, making sure that she was speaking slowly and clearly. "And, uhm, I guess, I get jealous—uh, obviously, _hotly_ jealous—a little too much."

She suddenly wanted to make sure he completely understood her. She pulled her hand away and he startled again. But he calmed when he saw what she did.

Flipping through her book again, she said, "_Ja do-biti ljubo-moran puno! Loše ljubomoran!_...(_**6)**_…But I'm sorry. I'll try to do better. It's just that, well, I've felt so alone since I came here. And…and I li--, I mean, you were, too, and you have been so nice. I was, uhm, afraid that I would be….alone here, again, when I thought…."

But Armen didn't let her finish. He turned to her, scooping her hand and cupping it with both of his and gently squeezed it. He was both thankful that they were getting through this _and_ that he had understood her in both languages. He smiled a little as he replied, "You..get _ljubomoran _a lot, uh, _I_…get confused a lot! Uh, …_we _can understand other—always, Oh. Kay?"

She softly chuckled, both embarrassed and touched by his reply. She quietly said, "Oh. Kay! We will try to do that! Thank you for 'understand other', Armen."

"Tank you, Al! You,..uh, sorry…_I _reelly needed that!"

She brought her other hand up, cupped it under both of his hands and squeezed and agreed, "Yeah. You were right. We both really needed that!"

They both looked at each other, uncertain of what to do. But then, Armen stood back up and because he was still nervous about everything, had forgotten to let go of her hand. He accidentally yanked her up as he did.

She gasped in surprise, and he gasped in alarm as she was pulled off balance and fell into his arms.

They looked into each other's eyes, both nervous and yet, strangely, comforted.

"I sorry!" he immediately said, as he began to pull away from her.

"I'm not!" she quietly replied, pulling him gently closer.

He looked down at her in surprise and grew nervous at her look. Still, strangely, he felt the same. He leaned closer to her.

And Al smiled underneath when she felt their awkward, yet sincere, kiss.

* * *

In the meantime, Sam hurried toward her locker after Tucker had left, feeling a little more light-hearted. But her heart especially leapt a bit more when she saw Danny headed for his locker.

"Hey!" she beamed as she neared him.

Danny noticed that right away, and privately relieved that she seemed to be in good spirits, asked, "What gives?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, bewildered.

"I mean, you look so happy. So, what gives?" he asked with a slight, impish smile.

"Sorry. Forgot the 'scowl of discontent'. I must be slipping!" she feigned a scowl before smirking back at her boyfriend. She then continued, "I guess I'm feeling better now that I was finally able to bury the hatchet with Tucker. It just took all friggin' day, that's all!"

"So, which hatchet did you use? Must've been a real mess!" Danny teased as he opened his locker. He frowned when a bunch of books fell out—again.

"Fun-ny. Better watch it or else I might just get 'another' one from the 'Shop' class!" she dryly replied, shoving him slightly as she teased back. "But it's a real relief just the same."

Danny smiled as he quickly finished placing the books he didn't need in his locker, and slammed the door before they could all fall out—again. Through it all, he could feel that she wasn't as tense as she had been.

Danny pulled on his locker door to make sure it was shut and Sam said, "Well, I'm glad this day is over! Could anything worse happen?"

Just as she said that, Danny's ghost sense went off. "You just had to say it, didn't you?" he dryly remarked. But his little smile that accompanied his words told his girlfriend that he was kidding. "Meet you at the usual place?"

"Of course," she wryly quipped. "Waiting with a hatchet, that is." But underneath, she hoped he would be careful.

He chuckled as he dove into a nearby closet and converted into his ghostly form once inside of it. His face grew more serious as he became invisible and intangible and soared out of the school. Hovering, he searched around and finally saw the small green blob of a ghost in the near distance. But before he could alter his course, the Red Huntress flew by him in a blur.

And before he knew it, the poor little ghost was obliterated by Valerie. It never knew what hit it.

"_Man_!" Danny couldn't help but think, unconsciously gritting his teeth with worry. "_Her beef with ghosts is getting tougher every time. Better get out of here before…"_

But he was too late!

Valerie's newly enhanced ghost-vision feature in her helmet worked perfectly, as she scanned for the next ghost about whom her ghost radar had alerted her. And her readings confirmed that that ghost must be invisible at the moment. With her special feature, she caught a faint outline of one not too far from her. She knew her readings were right. It was Phantom! She quickly raised her gun up and fired.

Danny yelled as the blow penetrated him and gasped, "What the…? How could she _see_ me?" But he knew he had no time to think about it, especially when Valerie followed up that blast with a larger missile.

Danny reacted instinctually and threw up an ectoplasmic energy shield. It protected him, but the force from the exploding rocket was so strong that he was propelled downward toward the school. As he saw the school charge closer to him, he became intangible and phased right through the roof, finally landing with a hard thud in one of the empty classrooms.

"Better cut this off before the trail gets too hot—for me, that is," he groaned as he got up. Quickly ignoring the pain as he did, he reverted back to his human form and limped out of the classroom.

He hurried as fast as he could, trying to work out the pain as he made his way to meet up with Sam at their rendezvous point. Just before he got there, he was feeling better but was still a little sore. Then he saw his girlfriend in the near distance. And her back was to him.

Suddenly, a mischievous little thought crossed his mind and he slowed his pace. Creeping more slowly to her, he squelched his chuckle at the thought of how perfect this was. He couldn't wait to scare her.

He was just about to pounce on her when she sidestepped him and stuck her foot out, effectively tripping him. He landed in a very disheveled and embarrassing heap. He groaned at the renewed pain in his side.

Sam chuckled as she helped him up and smirked, "You deserved that, you know. And you've been on my mind way too much since you went looking for that ghost. So, I kinda knew you were there! And then you were thinking of scaring me? As if!...." Then she immediately added in a more serious tone, "Now, how did it go?"

He smirked to himself this time. He just loved how she could change gears so easily. First she was teasing him, and now she was serious about what happened. And he knew she was talking about that ghost that had pulled him away in the first place.

"Valerie took care of it again. Looks like she's been on overdrive lately, and she almost got me again, but I got away." He then told her all about what happened.

She frowned but hearing Valerie's name again made her squirm, especially after he told her about that newest feature he guessed she must have. "Well, that would explain that new mask covering her face," Sam said. Still, hearing the Red Huntress' name reminded her about something else. She added, "And, that's good and bad!"

"Huh?" Danny asked, bewildered.

"Good that you're OK. But bad…And bad!"

He scrunched his face in confusion and shrugged.

She answered, "'Bad' because now she can find you wherever you are."

"Yeah, I know. But, I'll just have to be more on the lookout for her whenever I come upon any other ghost in the future…..Now, what about the other "bad"?"

"Oh, yeah. I don't know about you, but I forgot that it was Valerie's birthday and her party's tonight! I haven't gotten anything for her yet. Have you?"

He rolled his eyes innocently and lied, "Of course I didn't forget! But we'd better get to the mall so that we—er, I mean, _you_—can get something before tonight!"

She smirked at his ruse. "Yeah. Right. We better be…Oh. I mean, _**I **_better get going right now and, uh, would _**you**_ like to tag along just for the heck of it?"

He grinned wryly as he took her hand and together, they headed toward the mall.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

**A/N: And, BTW, NO! I don't know any Croatian! But it is REAL Croatian. I looked it all up, so I claim TOTAL IGNORANCE if there is even an ounce of poor grammar in the Croatian translation!**

**1. "Al, it's you! Please don't be angry with me! I-I can't explain anything that happened, but I didn't mean to do it. And I think I'm going crazy! Nobody will be believe me, especially you! And I want you to believe me! Please!"**

**2. "I sorry… for all. I.. know… should.. know better. I…don't.. think… that you… have done wrong. I.. do.. wrong. I.. was… a jerk!"**

**3. and 4. "Forgive me?"**

**5. "Forgive…both!"**

**6. I get jealous a lot! Bad jealous!**


	20. Chapter 20 The Birthday Party

**A/N: Have y'all calmed down a little? Well, might be a good idea to not get so comfortable, 'cause everything's going to be not so good from now on. And it starts with Chapter 20! Don't forget the 'IDNOAC' mantra. And enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 20—The Birthday Party

Bertrand had not even gone past the front hall when he grunted! He had been monitoring his gauges for the Ghost Kid. But his quick little side-visit to Spectra was enough for him to lose track of where the Ghost Kid was. But what he didn't know was that during this time Danny and Sam had made up, and therefore, his gauges weren't picking anything up from Danny.

The shape shifter pushed some more buttons and groaned. Even his little machine couldn't help him find the hybrid right now. Instead, another, very powerful reading was suddenly demanding his attention. Bertrand grew excited about that and decided to pursue this first. And there was plenty of time to act on his impulse and still finish his and Spectra's plan. But first, he just had to tell Spectra about this new reading!

Suddenly, he groaned at his very next thought. _"Darn it, Derek is still waiting for me in the cafeteria! Well, __**let**__ the pesky little ghost wait! This new development just can't wait! Besides, I can't find the Ghost Brat right now, so, a bird in hand was better than two…something." He paused and groaned a little before adding, "Gee, slipping on my own catch phrases! Oh, well, no time to kick myself—I've already done enough of that lately. So, it's back to Penelope!" _

Smugly satisfied with his decision, he flew right back out of the school and right to their rendezvous point.

"Penelope! Come here!" Bertrand called, his voice clearly quivering with excitement. He was now in his human form and he quickly went to seek her out. He found her near the still caged ghost dove.

The ebony ghost animal perked up her head when she heard his eager call. The dove listened in carefully as the two other ghosts talked.

"What is it?" the shadow ghost asked as she came up to him. Her face immediately brightened when she saw the excitement on his. He had gotten some of the Ghost Kid's pheromones after all—which would mean that Danny's love boat was kaput!

He pointed to the little machine and uttered, "The sensors on this machine are going crazy!"

"Oh, really?" Spectra replied, looking down at the gauges even though she didn't know how to read them. But she added with a touch of suspicion in her voice, "That's good news, right?"

"No, that's _great_ news!" he beamed. "That means that some human's pheromones are just about at the purest, most powerful level!" He pushed a few more buttons and gasped with glee.

Spectra had been looking anxiously on, unconsciously licking her lips in anticipation, waiting for him to explain. And just as she heard Bertrand's last response, she grew more attentive. "Well?" she egged him on.

"It's that Foley kid!" he exclaimed, still looking at his gauges.

"'Foley kid'? I didn't want it to be him! I wanted it to be…" she complained loudly. But Bertrand cut her off.

"I know, I know! I do, too. But beggars can't be choosey. Besides, the Foley kid's in a lot of distress now! And those pheromones we're interested in are at an incredibly high level in him!"

But Spectra hadn't heard his last comment. Still pouting, she whined, "I don't care about any of those other teens' pheromones! Even though it's a bonus to mess up any other kid's life, this whole plan was just to get Danny's more important ones— and to mess up his life, of course!"

"You're right, of course, Penelope, but, like you said, a bonus is up for grabs. If we ignore this, that would be like passing up free T-bone steaks just to get the filet mignon! We can always put the 'T-bones' in the freezer while enjoying the filets!"

The female ghost narrowed her eyes, but especially squinting her left one, dryly replied, "I think I'm getting nauseous with all those 'catch phrases', Bertrand, especially when they have to do with food….not that I've ever cared about that before!"

This time, Bertrand frowned in irritation and with a roll of his eyes, said, "Whatever! Remember, this is for _your _benefit as well as mine! I think we should take what we can certainly get right now. And there'll be plenty of time for the rest. In the meantime, I think I need to investigate about the Foley kid."

"All right! Do it already!" Penelope huffed a little. Even though she didn't like his snippiness right then, she knew he was right. Even still, she was partially mollified by what her assistant said. She dryly added, "And don't forget to bring the machine with you this time!"

"Of course I won't," he replied, a little annoyed at her patronizing tone when she had said the last remark. "But before I do, better have a little 'insurance'."

Even though he had already put some on before he had left for the school with Derek, he grabbed the ghost-masking spray bottle and doused himself with a heavier dose—just to be sure. Then he grabbed the machine, put it in his pocket, and quickly morphed back into a little fly.

But he stopped a moment and flew right back at her.

Spectra looked at him in confusion, keeping her full attention on him as he drew closer.

"Oh, and Penelope?" he said, with a voice that was both cloyingly sweet and annoying at the same time.

"Yes?"

"Please be a dear and go fetch Derek. And, of course, meet me back at your lair! Ta!"

She blinked, stunned by his 'orders'. She then scrunched up her face in irritation.

But it didn't matter, Her assistant hadn't waited to see her reaction. He had quickly buzzed away, in search of the latest, delicious buzz….

_****_

In the meantime, Tucker had left school without his friends. He wanted to be alone. And he wanted to take a very slow walk home. Feeling as if all his problems were large weights, his shoulders slumped under them. He kicked debris and snow out of his way in frustration.

But he wasn't alone. Bertrand had spied him just as he was leaving school and flew as close as he could so that he could see and hear what was going on—and collect his prize.

Tucker kicked more debris intermixed with snow as he kept thinking. This had been such a terrible day from the very beginning! Sam blew him and Valerie off. Well, he kinda understood Sam's blowing off Valerie, but not him. Yeah, she had apologized; and he kinda had lied that everything was 'OK', but none of it had really mollified him. He had the nagging feeling that it would only be a matter of time when she would blow him and Valerie off again for some _other_ attempt that the Red Huntress definitely would make to waste Danny Phantom. And then there was that thing about Sam kissing that new guy; and, of course of his accidentally blurting that piece of disaster to his best friend. Danny must be very upset with him as well!

Then another thought finally occurred to him. _Why_ did Sam do that? He tried to think of a reason, but none of the ones he thought of made sense. Then one finally did. Maybe Danny blew off on _her_ after he had ran away from them this morning, getting mad at her for her getting mad at him. And maybe kissing that new guy was her way to get back at Danny. Still, this kind of explanation didn't sit well with him. Sam was totally into Danny and wouldn't do that. Not especially after everything that had happened to them in the past. Besides, Sam wasn't the grudge-holding type. Or at least, he didn't think so.

But then, there were those little snippets of talk about her lately. Tucker groaned. They were probably started by that crazed-up jealous blonde. Still, Sam was never one who got into or cared about any rumor…well, except for that one last year. But that one had to do with Danny….But this new one now surrounding Sam was not a pretty one at all. She had better watch herself on that one. He grumbled at his next thought: as if she _watched_ herself with him and Valerie! He sighed, depressed once more when none of this stuff made any sense any more…He was just glad he wouldn't be seeing Sam for awhile.

He kicked another innocent pebble that happened to get in front of his frustrated foot, and he thought of Valerie. She had tried to talk to him again after school but, _of course_, she was interrupted by that ghost alarm of hers! And, _of course_, she _just had_ to run off to hunt that ghost! Not that he was really complaining. He hadn't really been in the mood _to see her_ as well. He was now more confused more than ever about his feelings for her. How could he let himself fall for her when she had such hatred for his best friend? When she hadn't given Danny Phantom a chance, had no compassion for him—or for any ghost, for that matter—even for all those times Danny actually had helped her? And hadn't she even noticed that his ghost friend never ever had even hurt her? Or that he was only defending himself all those times and not actually attacking her?

He sighed and shifted his backpack. He was getting tired; and felt weaker, but not really physically, but kind of so. Then he groaned. Now his stomach was feeling queasy.

Just then, he heard a familiar sound behind him. However, he kept walking. A moment later, he heard footsteps running up behind him. He knew that sound anywhere, especially when those footsteps melded into panting breathing.

"Tucker!" Valerie breathlessly said. "I'm so glad I caught up with you! You're not going to believe what just happened!"

Tucker had stopped when she had called his name. Then he jolted with a sudden thought. With all his emotional turmoil today, he had forgotten that it was her birthday! He silently groaned. He slowly turned around, wishing now, more than ever, that she had not come.

She was, of course, out of her 'Red Huntress' gear when he saw her. But for all that he was feeling at this moment, and now worried that she might be mad at him for forgetting her birthday, he hoped that he wouldn't be hearing more bad news.

Too bad he was wrong.

"Uh, what's that, Valerie?" he said, his voice betraying his gloominess and his anxiety.

But she didn't notice his tone because of her own chagrin. And she wasn't even thinking that he had forgotten her birthday. She immediately ranted, "I really still can't believe it myself! And I think I should warn you that it's a real shocker!"

Now she had all of Tucker's worry and his interest piqued. "What do you mean?" he finally asked, resuming his slow walk.

She stepped right beside him without missing a beat. "Well, OK. But remember. I warned ya!" she remarked. But then she paused a little, mustering up the gumption to spill the beans. "I saw….I saw Sam about to kiss that Phantom kid earlier today!"

Tucker's eyes widened and he momentarily—and abruptly—halted. He had to throw his hands up to his mouth to keep from snickering. Still, this was _not_ good news. But he knew he couldn't let on, and then came up with a quick response. "What?" he choked out. "Did you say you saw Sam _about_ to kiss that Phantom kid?"

"Yeah, but she didn't get a chance because I sho…stopped them!"

Tucker gulped and felt his stomach knot up when he just knew she was about to slip and tell him that she had shot Danny. _Of course_ she would have—if she saw him as the Red Huntress! So she had seen him earlier in the day? That was good and bad. Good that it must have been another ghost she was after when they were interrupted after school. But bad, because he hadn't seen Danny since before lunch. He had wondered why Danny and Sam hadn't met up with him at lunch today. Instead, Tucker had eaten quickly and left way before his best friends had come in very late for lunch.

Was Danny OK? Tucker was now worried about his friend. And he still couldn't let Valerie know that Sam's kissing Phantom—or Phantom's kissing Sam—was perfectly all right. He choked out again, "Then what happened?"

"Sam acted like she was guilty as charged. Then they both just disappeared. Literally. I can't believe _that_, either! But how could Sam do that to Danny? Poor Danny!"

Tucker, of course, felt the same way, but not about what Valerie saw. But about Sam's kissing that new kid at school. He unconsciously resumed his slow, depressed walk.

Valerie started up right with him, unaware that they had started to move again.

Tucker was pulled from his thoughts when Valerie continued, "I don't get it! I thought Sam was way into Danny and now she's after that Phantom punk? I don't see what she sees in him! What's with her anyway? Danny's way better than that putrid ghost!"

Tucker's thoughts were now on fast forward after those remarks. This was too much. Sam in a love quadrangle? No, not possible! Still, he could understand Valerie's jumping to conclusion like she did. After all, she didn't know that Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton were the same person. And she _couldn't_. _No one_ could see the resemblance. In fact, neither Sam nor he could tell that Danny was _still_ Danny while in his ghostly form. Not when it first happened, that is. That's because Danny's white energy ghost aura that surrounded his entire body actually distorted the light rays in the surrounding atmosphere. And that unique bending of the light around his glowing ghost form twisted the perception of any human looking at him. They _could_ not and _would_ not recognize him as one and the same person. Unless they were right next to him and thought of looking at him intensely. Even then, they might not recognize him, since the brightness of his glowing green eyes and white hair would cast a ghostly—some would even say, sinister—shadow on the rest of his facial features. Otherwise, if they weren't particularly intent on seeing his face, their eyes would be tricked and Danny wouldn't look like himself at all, even though under his aura, only his hair and eyes were different and all of his other physical features hadn't changed at all. _**–X- **_Or maybe some people just wouldn't believe that a human boy and a ghost boy could be one in the same. Besides, Danny did act differently when he was in his Phantom mode. Maybe no one could see them as one in the same also because of that. _**–XX-**_

Tucker had no more time to ponder about that. He was about to get even more bad news.

Valerie had suddenly gotten into one of her 'rant' modes. She growled, "That stupid, putrid, grr, slime of a ghost! Man, just _when_ is that Ghost Punk, _**that jerk,**_ going to leave us alone? He's already messed up my life and now he's not only screwed up my birthday, he's going to screw up Danny's life! Still, I don't see what got into Sam! I didn't think she was like that at all. Hey, maybe _he_ made her do it or something? You know how evil ghosts are. And I wouldn't put it past that scumbag to do that! Maybe that jerk somehow put her under his power? Or maybe he had another ghost making her do it?"

Tucker jolted at all the vile pouring out of her mouth just now. Every word spewing out of her was dressed in hatred. Not realizing just how _more _depressed he was after that, he unintentionally mumbled an answer to her speculating that a ghost had forced Sam to kiss Phantom, "No, Danny would've…" But he caught himself just in time. He was about to say that his friend would've detected another ghost with his 'ghost sense'.

"What did you say, Tucker?" Valerie asked, frowning with confusion.

"I-I mean," he stammered, "_Anny_-body would've, probably, kinda, would've had to do what that ghost had said."

She glanced at her boyfriend. He hardly made sense and she suddenly realized that he looked awful. Still, she was glad he had kinda agreed with her. "Maybe you're right." Then she growled again, "Man! Then that Ghost Kid's even more evil for coming between Danny and Sam! I wish someone would take care of his ghost hide once and for all!"

Tucker looked right at her and the blood drained out of his face. The hateful ring surrounding each word that she spat out about his best friend rattled his spine like fingernails on a chalkboard.

But before he could comment, she continued, "You know, come to think of it. Sam seemed kinda miffed after I, uh, got him to leave. Maybe that was the after-affects of his losing his power over her? I just don't know." She paused, thinking she needed to investigate this little detail.

Tucker, meanwhile, was speechless and had slowed his pace to a crawl. Now what was he gonna say?

But fortunately—or unfortunately—she didn't give him time to do just that, because she suddenly realized she was getting carried away. She suddenly chuckled in embarrassment. "Uh, yeah, you know how I can go off on that jerk! But I'm not gonna let him get under my skin anymore! He's just not worth it."

Tucker smiled weakly at her. But he, of course, was still upset. Still, he had to say something. And the next sudden thought had sort of come to the rescue. It hadn't made him feel better, but it was a way to both get off the subject and clear up another matter. Even still, he was upset on what he was about to say and inadvertently stammered, "H-Hey, V-Valerie, uhm… I'm sorry I didn't wish you a 'Happy Birthday' today. I-I was a real jerk not to, I know, but I-I haven't been…feeling good today at all."

She then frowned a little with real concern for him. "I knew something was wrong this morning! You really looked, uhm, kinda bad all day. Are you sick?"

He wanted to say that he was sick…sick at heart. But he said, "Sorta."

"Oh, I'm sorry! Maybe you should go home and rest. I mean, it's OK. I'll understand if you can't come to my par—….?"

"No, I'll come!" he insisted, interrupting her. He wasn't _that _big of a jerk.

She smiled a little with his response; but then, she frowned. "OK. But only if you think you'll be alright….But what about Danny and Sam? Maybe it would be better if you told them not to come? I would feel like a heel if I didn't say anything to them about what happened this afternoon and spoil everything right there. What do you think?" She finished her question and looked to her boyfriend, searching for his eyes to tell her what to do.

Tucker swallowed hard. He, too, wondered if Danny and Sam were going to come after all he had told Danny. But they would have called by now. Or maybe not—if they were _way_ upset. His shoulders slumped again. If they were any more upset than he was at this moment, they _wouldn't _be coming. He lowered his eyes and unconsciously blurted out, "Well, I don't know. Maybe after what I saw today, they won't be coming."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes widening.

Tucker's eyes widened in return. He hadn't meant to spill that out! Now he'd done it! He tried to cover up his blunder, but he was too nervous and unconvincing when he replied, "Uh, nothing! I didn't mean anything by that!"

Valerie narrowed her eyes and frowned at him in suspicion. "C'mon, Tucker, what happened? You can tell me."

He sighed and knew he wasn't going to get out of this one. He then hesitantly told her what he saw in school earlier that day; that is, what happened between Sam and Armen.

Valerie's face fell. This must have been why he had looked so distressed today! "Oh, this is bad, Tucker."

"Yeah, I know," he sadly replied, his face melting into a more sagging downward turn. "But I don't understand it at all! That is so unlike Sam. Yeah, she can be hard sometimes, but I don't think she would do that on purpose to Danny." _"Unless she wanted to break up with him?"_ he said privately to himself. But he rejected that thought as well. He continued instead, "I think we should just find out for ourselves tonight. If they don't come, we'll know that it's even worse. It'll be all over!" But, secretly, he hoped that everything would be fine and they would come.

"But maybe I should just cancel the whole thing? I'm really beginning to get bummed about all of this!" Valerie offered.

"No, Valerie, please don't do that. I mean, we're both kinda in the same boat right now, being bummed and all, and it still is your birthday. Maybe we've just blown all this stuff out of proportion?" But underneath, he wasn't so sure. Still, even with his doubts about his girlfriend and their relationship right now, he couldn't ruin her birthday. That would just be way too jerky and putrid of him to do.

Valerie looked at him a moment, thinking of what he had just said. Maybe he was right—except the 'blowing out of proportion' about Phantom. But then, his wanting to still be with her on birthday, even under the circumstances, was nice. Sad, but nice. And he actually told her what _he_ wanted this time instead of going along with what she wanted.

Tucker began to get nervous and even more depressed when she didn't answer him. Finally, he muttered, "Uhm,…"

But she interrupted him. "OK, Tucker, just come on over like we planned, OK? If Danny and Sam come, then we'll just make due and not make a scene. But if they don't, then we still have each other." She ended with a weak smile.

He looked at her and though that it was kinda weird what she had just said, it was sort of a _nice _kinda weird.

He finally said, "Uh, thanks, Valerie." And when he saw that they were nearing her house, he slowed and said, "Well, looks like we're here."

When they got to her front door, they stopped and Tucker said, "See you at eight?"

"Yeah, see you at eight," she softly said as she grabbed his hand and stepped closer. He, however, felt all wrong. Hadn't she noticed just how upset he still was? And suddenly, he felt his stomach tighten up. He felt nauseous and weaker immediately after that. Still, he didn't prevent her from leaning closer to him.

They were about to kiss when they jumped at the next voice they heard.

"Valerie!"

"Dad! You're home—_early_!" she gulped as she pulled abruptly back from Tucker.

Tucker, in turn, cringed.

"So, I see," her father said a little tersely.

"Y-Yeah, well, ahem, see you later, Mr. Gray. I mean, Valerie!" the boy said with a very nervous laugh, before turning right on his heels and scurrying off.

In the meantime, and just before Valerie had arrived on the scene, Bertrand had been tracking Tucker. And when he got to him, he had begun to harvest some of the kid's pheromones, sampling some of them as he did. He had been concentrating so much on harvesting the kid's stuff that he was caught off guard when Valerie had snuck up on Tucker. It had surprised Bertrand so much that he had almost accidentally materialized right in front of the couple! Luckily, he caught himself in time and was quick to listen in on their delicious conversation.

Bertrand smiled wickedly at this latest juicy development as the teens kept unintentionally feeding him information. Still, there was that more important task. He landed in the alley just next to the teen pair when they stopped in front of Valerie's house, and, remaining invisible, turned himself back into his human form. He then took the pheromone-extracting machine out of his pocket, and monitored Tucker. By the look of the gauges, Bertrand just knew that the kid was about to explode. He quickly took a sample. It was nearly perfect: just a shade lighter than the perfectly dark purple that it needed to be. And even though it could not be bottled, the ghost was surprised how quickly the vial had filled up. He smiled. Even _more_ perfect.

And it was at this precise moment that Tucker had felt nauseated and weak.

Bertrand then pushed the 'dose' button and whiffed all of its contents in. He felt instantly revitalized. "Don't mind that I had this little appetizer before the party!" he snickered. He didn't resist the urge to take another sample, which he immediately did. "There! That should last me for several days!

He jolted when he heard Valerie's father's protest. He quickly shoved the machine into his pocket and morphed back into a ghost fly. Then, he perched himself in a nearby crack in the wall.

He could hardly wait for tonight!

_****_

Danny and Sam had already forgotten about their tiff as the day wore on. So, they were in good spirits when, later, that evening…..

"So, you ready to go?" Danny asked, holding his cell phone to his ear as he 'combed' his hair with his other hand.

"Almost. Give me about five minutes, OK? How about I meet you halfway there?" his girlfriend asked.

"OK. Uhm, did you…?"

She interrupted him, "Yeah. I've got both of our presents, so that's covered."

He sighed in relief. "OK. See you in about five minutes," he said before hanging up.

Danny hurried downstairs and headed for the kitchen. He smiled when he saw his parents there, as usual, working on some kind of invention.

"Hey, Dad, Mom!" he said with a smile. "Sam and I are going over to Valerie's tonight. She's having a birthday party!"

"Well, that's certainly very nice. I hope you have fun!" his mother replied, not looking up from the gadget on which she was working.

"Gee, son, it's been a long time since I went to a party," his father commented.

"_Me, too!"_ Danny said to himself. _"Well, except for Dash's party…but that doesn't count!"_

But his father interrupted his thoughts. "But that's OK. Being with your mother is always a party to me!" He suddenly reached for her and affectionately pulled her closer to him.

"Yeah. Heh-heh, well. I'll just be leaving for _my_ party now and leave you to _yours_!" Danny nervously replied.

His parents chuckled a little as their son made his very quick exit.

Danny quickly joined up with Sam where they said to meet. He grabbed the larger of the two presents and took his other hand in hers. They continued on down the road in silence, enjoying each other's company. They unconsciously smiled and nodded to several other happy young couples they met along the way to Valerie's.

Even in the soft streetlights and under the full moon's glow, Danny and Sam could clearly see various couples as they passed by the snow-laden neighborhood. Some of those couples were strolling as slowly as they, enjoying the moment. Others were gushing with energy, obviously teasing the other with affection written all over their faces. And still other couples were pushing a baby stroller. Danny and Sam didn't see the other blush when they saw that.

But then, there were much older couples, some that moved so slowly with age that Danny and Sam weren't sure that they were _even_ moving. Still, the young couple smiled when they noticed one of those elderly couples in particular; and when that senior couple glanced at them, the seniors, in turn, smiled warmly and nodded politely back at them. The teens were amazed at the elderly two, even in that brief moment when they all connected as they passed each other. Danny and Sam couldn't help but have the same thought. Even though they had guessed that old couple must have been married for many, many years, the older couple still wanted to clasp their knotted hands together, locking their hearts with that symbolic gesture, as they treasured yet another moment with each other as if it were their first one in all those years. Danny and Sam secretly smiled underneath and wished they would be like that one day.

But as Danny and Sam continued onward, they also noticed some not-so-happy couples. Couples who were obviously upset with each other, or were maybe upset about something that had happened to one or both of them. Danny and Sam unconsciously squeezed the other's hands more tightly when they saw one of those scowling couples arguing hotly as they passed them by. The snippets of spiteful words that each of the teens briefly heard bit into them and they cringed. Both of the teens secretly hoped that they would _never_ be like that.

Finally, they had arrived at Valerie's, and Danny knocked on the door.

Bertrand perked up when he saw them. He flew upward, turning invisible as he phased into the house right before they could enter, but far enough away that Danny would not have detected him even without the de-ghost-i-fying concoction.

Mr. Gray answered it and said with a smile, "Oh, hello, Danny and Sam! You're just in time! As soon as I show you where to go, I'll tell Valerie you're here, OK?"

They nodded and as they stepped in, they handed him their presents. He smiled as he took them and said, "Thank you, and, uh, this way."

He led them through the front living room and down a small hallway just to the left of the stairs. At the end of the hallway was a lone bedroom which had been converted into a parlor. Computers, a very large screen TV, an impressive sound system, and a small game area had been set-up in this room. The stereo was going, but it wasn't so loud that anyone in the room wouldn't be able to talk.

The young couple grinned with delight when they saw the room and then smiled even wider when they saw Tucker within it. Their bespectacled friend, who was sitting on a nearby couch with his eyes toward the floor, had not yet noticed the three of them.

Meanwhile, Bertrand successfully phased through the ceiling and perched himself on the ceiling light of the parlor. He listened in carefully.

"I'll be right back, kids. Make yourselves at home," Mr. Gray said as Danny and Sam totally entered the room.

Tucker then saw his friends at the sound of Valerie's dad's voice. The first set of eyes his eyes met was Sam's. He frowned disapprovingly and looked back down.

But Danny noticed his friend's reaction and called to Sam's mind, _"Hey, Sam! I thought you said you apologized to him!" _

"_I did!" _she countered when she caught the drift of his thoughts. _"I don't know what his beef is!" _

"_Well, let's find out, OK? He sure looks down-in-the-dumps!"_ Danny suggested only to her mind.

"_Alright_," she mentally growled. _"I just hope you don't make me apologize more!"_

Danny silently smirked at her reply. But finally reaching Tucker, he quickly tried to start out the conversation between them and their friend on a lighter note, and said, "So, where's the birthday girl?"

"She's getting ready with her surprise. She said she'll be down in a little bit," Tucker hardly mumbled. Why were _they_ in such a good mood?

Danny looked to Sam when they heard Tucker's lackluster response.

She shrugged and then motioned for her boyfriend to keep talking to their friend.

"Uhm, heh-heh. Are you sure this is a birthday party and not a funeral?" Danny finally said with a nervous chuckle, and then cringed.

Sam cringed, too, but kept mum.

But when Tucker didn't respond, Danny pressed on. "OK. I'll just come out with it. You look kinda down, dude. What gives?"

Their bespectacled friend looked up at the both of them and growled to Danny, "You may have gotten over the 'Armen' thing, Danny, but I haven't. How could you cheapen your relationship like that?"

Danny blinked in total shock at what his friend just said.

Turning to Sam this time, Tucker continued with an accusatory tone, "And I feel _more_ of the same way about you, Sam! I still can't believe that you would do that to Danny. So, you would kinda deserve all those stupid rumors I've been hearing about you!" He paused a moment, but went right back to his attack, "_And_ I still think you're _way_ wrong about Valerie. You've just never given her a chance, never tried to get to know her!"

"You let me tell you something, mister," Sam reflexively and angrily began, but immediately clammed up when she spied Danny frowning her to silence. She could tell that he felt that this was the time for them to listen to Tucker. And she knew that he was right.

The couple then stood in disbelief as they continued to allow their best friend to lash at them. And from all the heated vibes they were most definitely getting from Tucker now, a funeral _would have been_ cheerier!

But before they could even think of saying anything else, Tucker pressed on, and his voice quivered in pain as he did, "And it's even worse! 'Valerie the Ghost Hunter' will _never_ stop hating Danny Phantom! I just can't take all of this anymore! I just don't know what to think or say about _anything_ anymore!"

He jolted upward off the couch and started to leave when Danny gently grabbed his shoulder and said, 'Hey, Tuck, don't go! We need to talk about this!"

"What's there to talk about?" his friend barely uttered, shrugging his friend's hand off his shoulder.

But before he could try to leave again, Mr. Gray came in with some drinks. He hurriedly said, "Please, everyone! Sit down. Valerie's coming right now!" He quickly turned away and left.

Just as Mr. Gray left, the three best friends could hear Valerie's footsteps on the stairs.

"C'mon, Tucker, it _is_ her birthday!" Sam finally said with a weak smile. "Let's try to make the best of it, OK? We can talk about all this later." She swallowed hard. That was difficult to say, but she was, underneath, glad she said it. She really didn't like seeing her friend like this, even if he had made her mad.

Tucker didn't answer her, but turned around and plopped back down on the couch. Danny and Sam sat right next to him, but Sam made sure that Danny was in between them.

Just as Valerie touched the landing of the stairwell, her father met up with her. He frowned slightly in worry as he said, "Are you sure about this, Valerie? Do you think it's a good idea?"

But she assuredly replied, "Yeah, Dad. Thanks for asking, though—again! But you know that I don't like things the way they are. So, don't worry, OK?"

"OK, if you say so, honey. Good luck, then!" he answered before he gave her a slight peck on the cheek. Then he added with a twinkle in his eye, "Oh, and, by the way: happy birthday, Honey! You're the sweetest sixteen-year-old daughter I know."

She smirked at the similar line he used every year—with that little tweak, of course. Still, she obliged him and added, "But I'm your _only _sixteen-year-old daughter!"

He chuckled a little. "Yeah, I know. But you're still the best!"

She smirked again as she continued toward the parlor. She stopped just outside the door and hesitated, suddenly unsure of her idea. Maybe it wasn't the best thing to do, now that Danny and Sam were having problems. Still, they _**were here**_, weren't they? Then, that could only mean that somehow they had worked it out. She didn't understand how, but she wasn't going to think about that now.

She pushed those thoughts away. And when she pressed on, she loudly announced, "OK, everybody! Close your eyes for my surprise!" She paused, and then commanded, "I mean it! Close your eyes!"

This time, all three best friends did oblige her and Valerie peeked around the door to make sure that they had obeyed her. Seeing that all three did have their eyes closed, she slinked the rest of the way into the room and planted herself firmly in the middle of it. Just as she raised her hands to her hips, she said, "OK, open them!"

The three other teens did just that and all of them gasped loudly at the same time.

Valerie was standing proudly in front of them in her full 'Red Huntress' gear! But they couldn't see her face. Her improved helmet, which she had modified not too long after she had gotten this new suit, had completely hid her face behind a large dark, sunglasses-like plastic shield.

But the sight of her was too much for Tucker. The blood drained from his face and he jumped up and ran out of the room. Without stopping, and leaving his stunned friends behind, he darted out of Valerie's home as well. He had never run as fast as this his entire life.

Bertrand, meanwhile, tore out of the house right after Tucker. He really didn't care about that silly teen's 'surprise'. He needed those pheromones! He quickly morphed into his human form while still maintaining his invisibility. And just as quickly, he pulled out his little machine. Gagging his chuckle, he turned it on and it dutifully began to harvest Tucker's pheromones. He removed the first vial just after it filled. It was a dark purple! Perfect for storing. He continued in glee with his task. Vial after vial filled as the shape-shifter activated the tiny machine over and over again, stopping it just before its warning bell. Now, he wished he hadn't added that feature. He made a mental note to take care of that in the future.

Angrily wiping the tears that had managed to escape with his sleeve, Tucker continued to run toward anywhere far from his friends. But then, he grew confused as his legs began to grow heavy. He felt suddenly very weak and nauseous; and he slipped on some snow-covered ice. Sure, he had been running for awhile, but what he felt wasn't a 'tired' weak; it was a sick, hopeless-feeling weak.

He slowed his pace, panting with anxiety. Then in the bright moonlight, he saw the place he might find refuge. For how long, he didn't care. He was just too upset to think anymore as he plunged into the thick, overgrown and snow-laden forest.

__

Danny and Sam sat speechless at first, and then their faces tensed with worry when Valerie helplessly turned her head and watched her boyfriend flee in obvious distress. They simply didn't know where Valerie was going with this. They hadn't been surprised, of course, that she was the Red Huntress. They were surprised that she had suddenly told them about it at all in this very abrupt way.

But before Valerie could say anything, Danny nervously cleared his throat, trying to come up with something to say—or at least trying to think on how to get out of there.

But he hadn't meant to get Valerie's attention yet. Still, he did get it.

And Valerie turned her head back to the couple.

Danny sheepishly smiled. He was surprised how his voice squeaked a little as he said with a tense chuckle, "Uhm, nice costume. But don't ya think you're way too early for Halloween?"

Sam took that as her cue and stood up.

Danny immediately followed suit.

Sam then chuckled a little nervously as well as she added, "Yeah, this certainly is a surprise, though I don't know what statement you're making….Aren't you afraid that the _real _Red Huntress will get upset?"

Now Valerie frowned in irritation. But they didn't see that. "Don't you get it? I _am _the Red Huntress!" She pushed the button on her wristband and reverted back to just 'plain' Valerie once more.

Both Danny and Sam feigned a startle when she did.

But then, Sam just snickered nervously as if Valerie were joking. Still, Sam was positive that the girl was _serious_. "Sure. Sure. And I'm 'Supergirl'! And I bet Tucker was in on this one, too, huh? Still, nice ice-breaker. I'm going to have to remember that one!" But she added to herself, _"I certainly won't forget!"_

All three fell silent after Sam had mentioned Tucker. They all knew he wasn't 'in on it'**.** When they looked at each other again, they suddenly all just _knew_ that they all wanted to get out of there—fast!

Finally, Danny choked out, "Uhm, hey, look, Valerie, what a neat trick and all, but, uhm…" But he really didn't know how he could say they were leaving without making matters worse. And he was now more worried about his missing best friend.

Valerie could feel her stomach seize her throat. She suddenly and definitely regretted her decision to finally come out with her secret so that she could move on and hopefully become real friends with these three special people. And she was worried about her boyfriend. She felt her frown pull at her cheeks and she bit her lower lip, trying to stop it from quivering. And she was suddenly aware of a distressing pressure in her eyes.

Danny and Sam just knew the girl in front of them was about to lose it. And they didn't want to be here to see it. Again, Danny was able to say, "Well, ahem, now that we know that you're the Red Huntress,….it's nice, to, you know, to know…I guess." He silently groaned. He had better shut up.

But Sam piped in, "Uhm, but you know, Valerie, this is so….sudden, you know, unexpected….Uh, maybe it would be best for us to go for now." She reached for Danny's hand when she said that.

"Yeah, maybe it would be best. But thanks for, uhm, inviting us anyway, Valerie. That was sure, er, nice." Danny was quick to add before leading Sam out of the room.

They came upon Mr. Gray, who was holding a tray of snacks and had been heading to the parlor. As they passed him, Danny nervously said, "Uh, thanks for letting us come, Mr. Gray. But we have to go!"

The man's face fell to a disappointed frown, but he didn't object to their leaving. He really had understood. After all, he had tried to talk his daughter out of telling them her secret like this. But he knew how stubborn she could be.

"OK, kids, I understand and thanks for coming!" he finally managed to say as he showed them to the door. But Danny and Sam and Mr. Gray didn't have the heart to look at each other as they left.

Valerie's father turned back around as he closed the door. He headed right to the back parlor. He had to be there, no matter what Valerie might think.

Just before he stepped into the room, he wondered what Tucker thought about all this. But when he entered the room, he got his answer. Valerie's boyfriend was nowhere in sight. He said nothing, but his heart ached to see his little girl's mute tears sliding down her anguished face. He walked slowly over to her and offered her his silent open arms.

She immediately thrust herself against him, buried her head in his chest, and bawled.

Mr. Gray swallowed down the lump in his throat as Valerie's mind twisted in turmoil over this worst birthday ever.

_****_

_**-X-**___**A/N: Disclaimer: Just so you know, I didn't come up with this explanation by myself. One of my past readers did and darn it if I can't remember who! I'm sorry, and whoever you are, I give you full credit to it. I just thought it was such a **_**NEAT**_** explanation, that I just had to spread the 'facts'! Thanks for letting me use it! If you want to tell me who you are, I promise to post your name and give you credit where credit is **_**definitely**_** due! Truephan**

**-XX- ****Now,**_**this **_**little added part was from pearl84. I really LOVE her explanation, too, so why not throw it all in? COOL!**


	21. Chapter 21 The Aftermath

**A/N: Well, looks like things have turned on the 'down' side for Tucker and Valerie. Let's see how it goes, shall we? Ready for Chapter 21? OK! Here goes! Still have that IDNOAC thing! And Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 21—The Aftermath

As Danny and Sam fled Valerie's house, they frantically scanned the immediate area for their friend, at least thankful that the moonlit night was bright enough to make that search easy for them. But their friend was no where in sight.

As they ran, Danny turned to his girlfriend and firmly said, "We've got to find Tucker! He really needs us right now!"

"You're right! I just feel awful about all of this!" she said with chagrin as they darted forward, ignoring the snow they kicked-up as they ran.

Danny knew what she meant. Her apology _hadn't_ been good enough. But then, his thoughts drifted to what had also upset Tucker. And that was the 'Armen' thing. He understood his friend's reaction, and felt that maybe Sam was thinking--and upset--about that, too. Still, Danny felt that there was something more to his male friend's dismay.

"Sam, it's not your fault, you know," he quickly spoke up. "And, somehow, I don't think that's what's really bothering him. I think there's more to it than him being upset with either or us. He must know underneath that we cleared things up. We just haven't gotten the chance to tell him."

"Thanks, Danny, I needed that!" Sam said. She _had_ been thinking about the 'Armen' thing and was upset that she hadn't told Tucker about it and that her apology hadn't convinced their bespectacled friend. She should have made sure. But then she added, "So, then, shouldn't you go look for him, you know, the way only _you_ could?"

He saw an alley ahead and dashed to its entrance and stopped. When Sam caught up, he cupped her cheek gently in one of his hands and affectionately squeezed it. He was so glad she understood. "See you soon?" he asked.

"You know my number! And I'll try to call Tucker's. Now, go!" she replied with a small, encouraging smile.

He returned her smile just as he dashed into the alley. He quickly morphed into his black-and-white alter ego and soared into the grey sky, knowing that looking from the high ground gave him the best perspective on where to begin to look.

* * *

Tucker plopped down hard against the big oak tree he had seen in a small clearing. Several small beams of moonlight filtered through its leaves and surrounded him as he sat on the cold ground; he thought how appropriate it was that they looked like bars in a prison cell. Just as well. He felt just as trapped. He quickly opened his backpack and pants leg pockets and pulled out all his techno gear. He turned off his PDA and cell phone and anything else that might connect him to the world which he desperately wanted to shut out right now. He shoved them back into his pockets just before he threw his now empty backpack on the snow and scooted over on top of it. He settled down, having the sinking feeling that he would be serving a long sentence here.

The teen then quickly pulled off his glasses and laid them beside him. He threw his jacket hood up, drew his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and buried his face within the natural space they presented to him. He ignored his frosty breath and fought back more tears as his heart and mind whirled with all sorts of emotions. How he wished he could throw them all away and blend right into the cold nighttime shadows that blanketed him.

But the random, hurtful thoughts kept rapidly buffeting him as he tried in vain to slow them down. He felt sick with them, and felt weak.

Suddenly, he raised his head up at an unusual sound. It was the sound of some kind of insect. Funny, most insects usually didn't fly in cold nights. He scanned upward and around him, hoping he hadn't accidentally stirred up some hornets' nest. He knew only full well that he'd already done a great job at doing that back at Valerie's.

But Tucker didn't know that the insect he heard was Bertrand, now as a ghost bee, hovering close by, looking for a spot to land in order to extract the teen's pheromones. Bertrand flew upward to one of the overhanging branches above the distressed boy and converted back to his human self. He wasted no time pulling out the machine from his pocket as he did. He quickly began his task.

Satisfied that it must have been a random, odd bug, Tucker dropped his head back on his knees and tried to focus. He frowned at the next thought that demanded his attention: Valerie! Just why did she do that? Things were beginning to sorta iron themselves out until she had to mess things up again! True, her secret had still been a lie all this time, and having major secrets like that was not a good way to start out any relationship. But now what was he supposed to do? And just what did _she_ expect him to do now? He had been able to get by all this in the past by just lending her his mute ear whenever she had gone on some rant about Danny Phantom. But what about _now_? He couldn't ignore it now! So what did Valerie expect him to do? Just come out all of the sudden and expect him to pretend to agree with all _that_ stuff now? Of her hating and _hunting_ Danny Phantom in front of him, and now in front of Danny and Sam? He couldn't do that! He wouldn't do that…to Danny. He suddenly felt very hurt, even betrayed, by Valerie. She should have warned him.

His thoughts naturally drifted toward Danny then. And he scrunched up his face, wishing more than ever that that stupid time rift hadn't happened! Before it did, Valerie seemed to roll with it when she found out Danny's secret after the disasteroid incident. Of course, it _did_ help that Danny had just saved the world. Still, no thanks to Danny's alternate putrid evil future self, that had all been erased. There was nothing he could do about that now, of course; but now there was a problem about Danny's secret. That time rift also brought that back. And he knew that Danny trusted him to keep it. He suddenly felt nauseous with that thought.

Then it hit him; and trying to forget his queasy stomach, he jolted his head up. Valerie had just done that very thing! It was weird how she did, but she did. She had given him—and Danny and Sam—her **trust **by revealing her secret to them just now. He groaned. But he couldn't reciprocate that trust when it came to Danny's secret. There were still _more_ lies in their relationship! He groaned at suddenly feeling very dizzy. He let his head fall back down into his knees. But he didn't know that he was really feeling dizzy and queasy because Bertrand's little machine was sucking up all his energy.

Meanwhile, Bertrand could see that this vial was about full, too! Good for keeping but, darn it, not enough receptacles! He should have brought more of them! But, really, all he could safely hold was four, not counting the one in the machine.

All of the sudden, the little machine's bell dinged and Tucker bolted his head up at the sound. "What was that?" he uttered, certain that _that_ was no insect. He scanned upward, toward the place from where he was sure he had heard the sound come.

Bertrand gagged his gasp and immediately turned himself invisible. He silently chided himself for not paying attention to the machine to keep it from 'dinging'. He quickly lifted upward and flew away from the tree and Tucker, hurrying back to the Ghost Zone in order to store his treasures. With any luck, he would still have plenty of time to return and harvest more of his victim's pheromones.

But when he didn't see any reason attached to the sound, Tucker groaned again. Now, he was imagining things! He let his head fall again. Then he groaned at his next thought: Sam! Sure, she had apologized for getting mad at him, but how could she have _ever_ thought _that_ about him? That he would put Valerie before Danny and her? He suddenly and unconsciously bit his lower lip with that revelation. That _was_ the problem. He kinda _did_ put Valerie before Danny. During their fight a couple of days ago. He _hadn't_ reacted like he should have in helping Danny. He sighed in defeat. He should have put Danny first, even when he wanted to put Valerie right up there with his two best friends. But he shouldn't and he couldn't. But he wanted to. Not that he felt less about Danny and Sam. Just that…he had been feeling _more_ for Valerie.

But would his friends ever accept Valerie now? He moaned. Well, certainly Sam wouldn't. He suddenly felt hot as his anger seized his face. Sam could be so stubborn about things! But then, he regretted that thought. That was true, of course, about Sam, but deep down, Tucker had to admit that she was also trying to protect Danny, and really, in some ways, him, as well. She probably was afraid that Valerie would hurt them both; and from the way he acted when Valerie finally came out with her secret, Sam had been right. Valerie had hurt him. Not purposely, of course, but he still felt the sting from what she did. She hadn't warned him.

His mind halted again. But she kinda did. She had said it was _supposed_ to be a **surprise.** And it certainly was a shocker of a one!

His head wrestled with more tormenting thoughts, thoughts that he just didn't feel like fighting anymore. And he suddenly let the confusion take him over. Valerie and her secret. Danny with his. Sam's lashing and her hurting Danny with that guy. Yeah. Sam and that guy? But right now, he didn't want to think about anything any more. All he could think about was his hurt. His could feel his mind numb with fatigue from all the anxieties buffeting his heart and he gave in. Before he knew it, he was mentally and emotionally exhausted and fell asleep within his moonbeam-lit cell under the cold, dark tree...

And in all that while, Danny had searched desperately for his friend. Tucker wasn't at their usual hangouts and Sam had called to tell him that their friend's cell phone and PDA must have been turned off. And that could mean only one thing: Tucker was _incredibly _upset. He increased his speed, this time heading to Tucker's home, hoping that he would find his best friend there. He didn't know what he was going to say or do when he finally caught up with Tucker. But, he didn't care. He just knew he had to find him.

_

* * *

_

Valerie let go of her father and quickly wiped her tears away.

"I'm all right now, Dad," she muttered unconvincingly. "I think I just need to get a bit of fresh air."

"OK, Honey. Be careful," he said with a supportive, weak smile.

Valerie dashed upstairs and opened her widow wide. She pushed the button on her bracelet and instantly became the Red Huntress. She soared right through the window and into the open, understanding arms of the moonlit sky.

As she flew onward to nowhere in particular, she tried to squelch her feelings. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't. Her helmet began to fog up with all the extra humidity. But even lifting it completely off her head in frustration for a moment didn't release the rattling she felt within her head.

She truly now regretted that she had surprised Tucker, Danny and Sam with her secret. However, underneath, she really only regretted _how_ she had told them. She should have done it a different way. And she should have made sure Tucker had been 'in on it' as Sam had said.

She placed her helmet back on when she noticed the biting cold buffeting her cheeks. But they weren't flushed just because of that. Tucker! She would never forget the look on his face when he saw her in her Red Huntress costume. He was more than surprised. He was shocked. Devastated. She suddenly frowned in confusion. Why was he _devastated_? She could understand disbelief. But devastation?

And then, Danny and Sam were no different. They thought she was _joking!_ And when she insisted she wasn't, they were, well, spooked by her revelation. She did a 'good job' all right. A good job at alienating them forever.

She suddenly frowned more. She just didn't get it. What was the big deal, then? She thought they would have rolled with it. And didn't people have all kinds of secrets they didn't reveal unless it was with the right person and at the right time? She thought she was with the right person: Tucker. And the right people: his two best friends. She moaned. But obviously it wasn't the right _time_.

Maybe they couldn't understand. Maybe they couldn't see why she had felt so shunned by practically the whole school. Danny and Sam—and even Tucker—must think she was _mega-weird_ now! After all, what teenager in her right mind would hunt ghosts?

She sniffed as she thought about that some more and grumbled when she couldn't get to her nose. She pushed a button and her helmet face shield popped opened to allow her to wipe her nose with her sleeve.

But _now_ what was she gonna do? Tucker must think she was way-out crazy now. Would he ever want to see her again? A tear rolled down her face. She really wouldn't blame him. She had totally embarrassed him in front of his friends and now his friends would make it perfectly clear to him that they didn't want to see her again. They would _never _accept her now. In fact, they probably would guess that her secret was the real reason her old friends at school had rejected her. But it wasn't. It was because she had been thrust into sudden poverty and no longer qualified as 'in'.

"Who cares, anyway?" she growled, trying to convince and steel herself. "Before Tucker came along, I was doing just fine! I didn't need anybody. I _couldn't_ need anybody. I had my 'extra work' to do!"

She increased her speed, knowing that she had **not** convinced herself **at all**. Suddenly, her ghost alarm went off. But it sounded odd. "Darn this thing! Can't the ghosts see that I'm totally _not_ in the mood?" She violently shut it off and went even faster.

But she didn't know that it was alerting her of Bertrand's approach. He was making a beeline to the portal he knew had to be nearby and wasn't paying attention to his surroundings.

Valerie felt all the emotions within her speeding up; and, hoping to outrun them, unconsciously commanded her hover board to pour on more speed.

All of the sudden, her ghost alarm sounded off again, jerking her out of her thoughts. It still sounded _very odd_! "Darn it! I'll never get any peace unless I get rid of that ghost!" she angrily grunted.

She closed the shield of her helmet and activated its ghost-detecting visor. She had some difficulty finding the ghost, however. The signature seemed to have _holes_ in it, which it really did, since Bertrand had missed some parts of his aura when he had sprayed himself with the ghost signature masking formula, and the stuff hadn't fully been absorbed in his ghostly skin because of that. But the fact that Bertrand was headed _right _to her at least made it possible for her to detect him after all.

She quickly pushed a button and a wicked-looking weapon eked out the sleeve of her red suit. She quickly armed it, and just when she estimated that the invisible Bertrand was within the ecto-gun's sites, she fired without hesitation.

Bertrand heard the gun go off and saw the Red Huntress in the near distance, but he was too late. The blast hit him squarely, driving him forcibly to the ground and into some bushes just a few hundred feet from the sleeping Tucker. But the thick forest had successfully muffled the noise of Bertrand and Valerie's encounter, and the boy remained asleep.

Bertrand, meanwhile, had been knocked senseless and the little machine that was still in his hand was thrown several feet from him. But now that he still had most of the masking juice on him _and_ wasn't emitting any energy because he was unconscious, Valerie momentarily lost track on where he was.

"_He can't have gotten far,"_ she said to herself, recalibrating her radar device to trace any residual ectoplasmic energy. She was about to scan the area, but her mind stopped her, demanding her to pay attention to the thoughts she had before she encountered this ghost. She turned around and soared upward as her face suddenly dropped. She wished she could empty her head of these pesky thoughts! She tried to push them away, but her heart wouldn't let her. Finally, she couldn't take any more yanking on those old heartstrings. She made up her mind.

"I'm just going to go find Tucker and come totally clean with him. About _everything_! I think he deserves better than how I've treated him with this lame-brained surprise. I just hope he'll forgive me!"

She felt the pressure in her heart lighten a little with her decision and she altered her course and headed to Tucker's home.

But just as she neared it, her ghost alarm went off again. "Now that does it!" she growled with hatred as soon as her sites homed in on the ghost.

She didn't think twice about firing.

* * *

As Danny continued to head toward Tucker's house, he continued to scan the area below him, hoping that he just might stumble upon his best friend. He, too, had tried Tucker's cell phone and was even more chagrinned that he hadn't answered it. Tucker was _definitely_ very upset to even _think_ of searching for the 'off' button of any of his techno gear, much less have them off for this long.

He was just a couple of blocks from Tucker's home when he saw someone below him that had a jacket that looked like his best friend's! But the hood was up. He slowed down, turned invisible and quietly soared downward. But as he neared the boy he spied, he quietly asked, "Tucker?" But it became undisputable to Danny that the boy was **not** Tucker when the boy screamed and ran away at hearing the sudden ghostly whisper!

Sighing with disappointment, Danny veered away to the left and upward. He rematerialized and resumed his course to his friend's home. But he didn't realize that in his disappointment he had actually slowed his speed.

Finally, Tucker's house came into his view and just before he sped up, he heard a familiar sound and his stomach knotted. He stopped in mid-flight and gasped as the fiery red ghost-seeking missile was just moments from hitting him.


	22. Chapter 22 Multiple Disasters

**A/N: Hope y'all are doing well this Friday the 13th! Well, there is some bad luck coming up in this chapter as you'll see soon enough. And just so you know, some of my wild and crazy 'theories' that you'll see in this chapter are heavily influenced by even more of pearl84's own explanations she made in some of her stories. I thought her explanations were MEGA COOL and would like to keep the 'facts' going! In the meantime, are you ready for what the title suggests? Well, hope you are, 'cause I'm going to give it to y'all anyhow!! Don't forget that "IDNOAC" thing. Have a very Happy Friday the 13th and here is Chapter 22. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 22—Multiple Disasters

Bertrand's head finally rejoined reality and he opened his confused eyes. He looked at his unfamiliar surroundings and gasped. How did he get here? Then his mind totally cleared and he remembered how he got blasted by that red ghost hunter girl!

"Blast it!" he grumbled as he floated to a standing position. Then he jolted at his next thought. The machine! He immediately padded himself down and gasped when he felt and _heard _the crunching sound of broken glass. He gingerly took out each of the four vials that _had_ been in his pocket--piece by piece. The pheromone samples, of course, were totally lost. And now maybe the machine was as well? He jerked his head around, scanning the area and frantically began to search for it. In his panic, however, he also hadn't noticed that the masking formula had worn off and his ghostly aura had returned.

_

* * *

_

Spectra impatiently paced back and forth in her lair. She had easily retrieved the lynx and had returned with both him and his wife _hours_ ago. But now, Bertrand was taking too long! Where was he? She grunted. He had better not make her wait any longer. Besides, she didn't want to forget that she was going to give him a great big piece of her mind for giving her orders that while ago. The nerve!

She stopped. She shouldn't make herself worry _this _much. She stopped at the nearest mirror and glanced at her human reflection. She gasped as she drew nearer to it. Now there were four new wrinkles! She hurried past the two caged ghost animals and to the lab in the back room. She quickly began to search among the many multi-colored and multi-shaped sealed beakers and jars. But she couldn't find for what she was looking.

As she put aside yet another jar she had just inspected, the shadow ghost growled in frustration, "Blast it, Bertrand! Why do you have so much clutter in here?" In reality, though, that 'clutter' was carefully labeled; but right now, it was all just clutter to her because she couldn't find what she wanted. "And where _are _you?"

She continued in her rant. "I'm sure he said he had a few vials of the stuff," she muttered in annoyance as she continued to push aside unwanted concoctions.

Derek and Sarah, meanwhile, couldn't help but notice the loud clanking of glasses and objects as Spectra continued in her mad search. They grew more nervous as the din grew louder now that Spectra had let panic seize her.

The confined dove startled, fanning her wings violently upward for a moment at the next very piercing noise. One of the beakers had been accidentally—yet carelessly—pushed off the table and crashed loudly to the floor. "What is happening?" she hurriedly and nervously whispered to her husband, who was in his own cage next to her.

"I do not know," he answered, but then, his eyes widened and he jumped up in alert when he heard an agonizing, penetrating scream come out of the lab.

The dove pressed herself against the bars of her cage, vainly hoping she could move as far away from the horrible sound as she could.

Suddenly, another terrorizing screech pierced the air, followed by a spine-tingling "NOOOO!"

Not a moment later, Spectra came out of the lab and into the front room. And being that the shadow ghost hadn't taken the time to place the enchanted animals in the small isolated room that was found a little distance from the front room as she usually did, the couple was currently in the same room with the evil female ghost. However, when she had entered the front room, Spectra was holding a mirror, which shielded her face from the two now shivering ghost animals.

Sarah kept herself pressed against the bars, wishing now more than ever that she could phase right out of it; but, of course, it was a ghost cage, so therefore, ghost-proof.

Her husband, meanwhile, bared his claws, waiting in dread. It was unmistakable that their captor was distraught. And that couldn't be good news for him and his wife.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity for all the parties, Spectra lowered the mirror and the young married ghost couple gasped. Her human face was now completely old, hideously twisted with age. She looked as ancient as she had ever-looked evil.

Both livid and terrified at her appearance, she hissed to herself, "How was I to know that that was an _**aging**_ potion that fell? Why does he _even have_ such a thing anyway?"

Layer upon layer of bags sat under her blood-shot red eyes as they sent dark, evil darts at her prisoners. She knew, at least, how she could vent her angry frustrations—_most_ _definitely_. After swatting away the tuft of stringy, lifeless, yellowish-grey hair that had suddenly fallen into her face, Spectra floated closer to them.

She bared her jagged and deformed sallow fangs at the couple. They cringed, trying to ignore—but compelled to look--what they next saw. Green saliva oozed off of Spectra's decrepit teeth and a steam-like gas billowed out of the slime as it continued down her wart-filled chin. The sight was as if the shadow ghost had placed a broken bottle of green acid in her mouth! The jagged shards of that imaginary bottle moved hideously as she angrily spat out, "And this is _both_ of your faults that I can do nothing about this right now! If you had done as we wanted, I would have plenty of youth potion, complements of the Ghost Boy's powerful pheromones! But not now!"

Before either of them could respond—not that they really could at how terrified they were—they both screamed in excruciating pain as Spectra's incensed purple ectoplasmic rays enveloped and electrocuted their bodies.

Sarah got the brunt of it, as the bars of her cage which she was still pressed against absorbed and magnified the energy so that the jolt to her tiny body was all the more intense.

Both of the young ghost animals fell completely stunned to the bottom of their cages once Spectra released them from her power. Smoke bellowed from both of their bodies as they lay completely defenseless and senseless.

"Now, I feel better!" the shadow ghost said with a wicked smile as she looked over the unconscious couple. Her ire was now gone, but not her anxiety. It was luck that there had been hardly any of the stuff left in that vial she had broken. So, while it had only zapped her of her beauty and youth, it left her strength unaffected. Even still, that was not enough to satisfy her. She scrunched up her sagging face and it jiggled with each of the words she blurted out, "Still, now more than ever, I need Bertrand! What's taking him so long?"

She floated past the still animals, steeling herself not to glance at any mirrors she passed on the way to her room. In her self-absorbed apprehension, she had failed to notice that smoke was also coming from some of the now dully glowing bars that had been behind Sarah. And several of them had significantly absorbed Spectra's assault...

* * *

Meanwhile, Bertrand was beginning to panic himself. He had been searching for over an hour and couldn't find the little machine! Even after creating an energy orb to help him search, he failed.

"Spectra's gonna kill me," he moaned. Then realizing how ludicrous a statement it was, he corrected himself, muttering, "Or, at least make me suffer with _excruciating_ pain!"

He enlarged his energy orb and shuffled through more bushes. He was about to give up when his foot struck something that was definitely _metal_. He reached down through that bush and chuckled in triumph as he pulled the object up. He found it!

He quickly inspected it and sighed in relief when it looked like it hadn't been damaged. And the concentrated, deep purple pheromones were still safely contained in their lone receptacle that he had not removed.

"Looks like no harm done!" he snickered in self-satisfaction as he bolted upward with his prize.

But, just then, he saw flashes of bright green and red lights rivet the night sky just above him.

_

* * *

_

Right at the moment when the Red Huntress' angry missile was about to hit him, Danny managed to pull up a green ectoplasmic shield. The combined green and red explosion when the two energies collided lit up the night sky like fireworks.

Unbeknownst to the two fighting teens, however, a third teen, namely, Tucker, was started awake by the commotion. He stared up through the branches of the large oak tree under which he still was, searching the phenomenon through his blurry vision. But his hearing instantly told him what he needed to know, as the powerful sound of that explosion echoed through the dark forest.

"Those aren't fireworks!" he exclaimed, jamming his glasses on just before jumping up from where he had been sitting. "That sounded like some kind of ectoplasmic explosion! What's going on?!"

He crammed all of his techno-gear into his backpack and slung it hastily over his shoulder. He hurried through the woods as fast as the moonlight would let him. Grunting with how it was still too dark to see in some places, he whipped out his PDA that was in his pants pocket and punched a few buttons. Nothing happened! But before he panicked, he realized that he had turned it off! He stopped and quickly turned it on. He began to key in his commands. He started to run just as he pressed the last needed command. The little machine dutifully emitted a bright light, not unlike a flashlight, that hastened his pace out of the small forest.

By the time he got onto the nearby adjoining sidewalk, the night sky had returned to normal. He desperately scanned the area and saw her. Valerie! In her Red Huntress gear and on her hover-board! He gasped when she fired another missile.

But where was the ghost?

* * *

Danny screamed in pain as the explosion from the powerful red ectoplasmic rocket shattered his green shield, and the remnants of both his shield and the rocket penetrated his left side. But the shield had managed to dampen most of the blow or else he would have been obliterated. He instantly clutched his bleeding side with one hand, panting heavily from the rather large raw sting riveting his body. He tried to ignore his ragged breathing and the black curtain that was beginning to come down over his eyes as he desperately struggled to produce his wulf claws with his free hand. A moment later, and he jammed them into the atmosphere, quickly wrenching open a crude portal. Shaking with the strain, he finally pulled himself through it just as Valerie's instruments confirmed that he had survived her first attack.

Without hesitation, she sent another missile to him to finish the deed.

The injured teen ghost had barely pulled himself through the quickly closing portal when the second missile impacted the site. The strong blast managed to send several powerful waves of destructive energy through the portal just before it closed, delivering to the boy on the other side another mighty punch to his entire body. He screamed in pain again, helpless as his body flew out of control, tumbling wildly through the Ghost Zone until he flung toward a green and purple ghost shelf. He felt his body ram violently into the large black boulder perched upon that same shelf.

As Danny slid down the boulder, rapidly loosing his grip on consciousness, he tried to will his healing powers. He could feel the blue energy begin to surround him with his effort. But it had come too late and he felt a sudden drain of energy. His head dropped as he saw total blackness at the base of the dark ghost boulder.

* * *

Suddenly having a sick gut feeling about all of this, Tucker gasped as he witnessed another bright red flash coming from Valerie's second exploding missile. He frantically searched the sky and still only saw Valerie.

He quickly extinguished the light from his PDA and aimed it toward the general direction of the impact site and frantically punched on the keys.

He gasped again in horror when he read the results: there were traces of Danny's ectoplasmic blood at that precise site!

He stood with his mouth agape as Valerie hovered momentarily and then took off. He just _knew_ that she had attacked his friend! And though it was all in his mind, he could swear that he could hear every one of her hate-filled words she threw at his _best_ friend, Danny Phantom, as she did!

He gritted his teeth in anger. She could _never_ be special to him if she was so capable of hating anyone as much as she hated his friend! And so capable of hurting others—permanently. He was now glad he had never told her the truth about his friend! She would never understand with all that hatred built up inside of her.

His eyes stung all of the sudden, but he roughly wiped away the pain from them. He knew what he had to do. He had been a fool to have ever thought otherwise.

He started running forward, worried sick about his friend. All of the sudden, more flashes of red energy penetrated the night. Maybe Danny was OK! He hurriedly tracked their origin and was slightly relieved that they were not too far away. He darted toward that direction.

_

* * *

_

Just as Tucker had spied her, Valerie had put her board on hover while she had checked her instruments. She had double-checked them before confirming that they no longer registered Phantom's signature.

"Finally!" she yelled. But her yell was a mixture of hatred and triumph. "I'm surprised it took me _this long_ to get him! He's never put up a good fight and then just would run off like the loser he was! Oh, well, at least I've ridded myself of him, so I'm not going to worry about the details."

She pushed the button underneath her black boot and her hover-board immediately began to move rapidly forward. But she hadn't gone even ten feet when her ghost alarms were activated.

"What the…?" she said, baffled. She studied the readings and growled, "Better take care of him!"

As she flew onward in the moonlight, she continually monitored her instruments, making sure that she was headed in the right direction. Finally, she no longer needed any of her instruments' confirmations. She could now see the guilty ghost straight ahead in the near distance.

But what she didn't know was that the ghost on her scanner was Bertrand, and he had seen her first.

"Now, I think, is just the right time for me to get rid of that pesky little ghost hunter," Bertrand said darkly. "And she will no longer be a thorn in my side!" The shape-shifter quickly shoved the little machine in his pocket and just as quickly morphed into a large wasp.

Before Valerie could arm herself, the giant wasp attacked her with a powerful green ectoplasmic ray he produced with his large insect incisors.

"**Incoming enemy fire. Evasive action taken**," her hover-board instantly told her.

It immediately pulled Valerie downward. Her "Whoaaah!" response to the sudden movement echoed downward as Valerie felt her stomach suddenly in her throat. But she managed to keep her balance through it all and instantly steered the board to the left and upward for a counterattack.

Bertrand-as-a-ghost-wasp easily dodged the red ray Valerie had then thrown at him. He shot another green beam in retaliation, but the Red Huntress jerked away, wobbling slightly on her board when she evaded the attack just as deftly as a surfer managing a wayward wave.

Instantly regaining her balance and momentum, Valerie answered that with a volley of small red balls that burst outward like flak riveting an enemy aircraft. Bertrand screamed as her counterblow hit him. His ghostly bug eyes burned from the intense light set off by the blasts and one of the bursts of energy tore at his wing.

Now livid, he whipped his abdomen violently around and aimed his stinger. He charged at the Red Huntress with his wasp blade with incredible speed. He was so fast that Valerie could barely respond. She hadn't anticipated a ploy such as this. Still, she tried to evade him but he found his mark and rent a large hole into her hover-board, knocking her right off of it as he did. Valerie screamed as she plummeted helplessly toward the ground.

Bertrand smiled in triumph and continued in his flight toward the portal. He didn't think he needed to watch his foe plunge downward to her doom…..

* * *

In the meantime, Tucker had finally caught up to what was happening between Bertrand and Valerie. He gasped as he watched the moon-lit scene above him unfold. He bit his lower lip in worry when he saw Valerie's hover-board jerk her downward but sighed when she quickly righted herself. He whipped out his PDA as he did, desperately looking for the right time so that he could intervene. Then he gasped when he saw that Valerie was rapidly approaching a hard introduction to the defiant ground. He frantically punched on the PDA's buttons.

But before he could finally key in the commands, Valerie's hover-board had barely swooped down and gently caught her. With Valerie now splayed upon it flat on her back, the hover-board climbed upward in an unbalanced flight. Both Valerie and the boy sighed in relief at the same time, though neither of them knew that they had done that.

Valerie quickly righted herself on her board and tried to ignore how hard it was for her to steer it now that it had been damaged by that ghost. She didn't hesitate to scan the horizon. And then, suddenly, she spied him in the distance making his escape.

"Oh, no, you don't," she growled through gritted teeth and whipped out a rather large gun. She immediately fired at the fleeing ghost. She could tell from the sudden flash of red light and booming sound that followed it that her aim was true.

The resulting red fireball rocketed toward the ground. Its trajectory reflected off the shiny faceplate of her helmet as she followed its smoking trail. But she frowned suddenly in disappointment when there was no other 'boom' at the certain crash site as she expected. Instead, the ghost seemed to have disappeared!

Wondering how this could be, and that it should not have been able to do that since she had blasted it with anti-ghost ammo, she soared downward as fast as her damaged hover-board would let her. She kept her gun ready, all the while anxiously checking her instruments, and scanning the area for ectoplasmic residue.

In the meantime, Bertrand had indeed been hit, but as he fell toward the earth, he managed to morph into a tiny fly again, and that sudden change in size effectively extinguished the flames.

"OWW!" he hissed at the burning pain and eking smoke that still surrounded his small body. "Now that irritating hunter did it!" he seethed through his fly mouth. He headed to a nearby tree and quickly morphing into a ghost ninja warrior, waited in ambush.

Valerie was about to give up when her ghost alarm located the ghost for her. She quickly fired three ghost-seeking missiles, the same kind that had effectively ridded her of that Phantom kid.

But Bertrand was ready. He didn't change his position as he pulled out his nunchucks. He visually tracked the missiles as carefully as they tracked him. And just when he thought it was the right moment, he swung at the missiles with his ninja weapon, knocking them away as a bat would hit a baseball.

The anti-ghost missiles ricocheted out-of-control back toward the Red Huntress. She gasped in worry. She couldn't estimate their final path. She wasn't sure if they would be too close to her in the end or if they could actually hurt her should they strike, but she didn't want to find out. She fired at the returning missiles.

Tucker, meanwhile, had a hard time keeping up with the feuding duo. He had just gotten to this new site when he saw the missiles charging back at Valerie. Even though he was upset and hurt by everything she had done, especially when it came to Danny, he still didn't want to see her hurt by anyone, especially not by a ghost. He saw the rebounding missiles head right to her. He could tell that they were out-of-control and gasped, certain that they would harm her.

He pounded on his PDA again and just as the beam from Valerie's gun met the missiles head-on, a loud explosion resulted, the force of which soundly hit Valerie and her hover-board. Valerie screamed at the pain that pushed inward upon her and assaulted her hover-board. Both of them careened out-of-control.

Tucker just knew she would not be able to correct her flight path before hitting the large nearby tree that suddenly presented itself to her and her board.

He activated the final commands on his PDA and a swirling green portal opened up right in front of the tree. Valerie and her board plowed right into the ghost portal and it quickly closed right afterward.

Valerie was now safe, but floating in a daze in the Ghost Zone.

But before Tucker could activate another escape portal for Valerie, a large green beam burnt a hole too close for comfort from where he was standing. He yelped as he jumped away from the still sizzling pit and immediately pushed another key on his PDA. An instant later, he became invisible and darted several feet from this area, just in case Bertrand would follow up with another blast—which is precisely what the ghost did. But Tucker had moved far enough away in his stealth mode and avoided getting hit.

Bertrand grumbled at his failure. "Now where did he go? I swear he was right there! How did I miss him twice? I should have gotten him this time!"

Still in his ninja warrior form, he flew down to investigate.

Tucker, however, was waiting for him. He activated the program he wanted and the beam that shot forth from his wondrous little machine successfully captured Bertrand within an ectoplasmic net.

Bertrand yelled in frustration at being tricked, immediately struggling against the net that had popped out of nowhere. But Tucker ignored him as he continued to hack in coordinates and meld in programs. All the while, the techno-boy's mind whirled. _"Let's see,"_ he quickly told himself. _"Hmmm… we're in the second parallel and the Ghost Zone is in the third right now, so that would mean…."_

He drifted out of thought as he concentrated on programming his PDA. He had already figured out what he needed to know about the positions of the two interconnected worlds. Something he and his friends had figured out a very long time ago when Danny first wanted to map out the Ghost Zone**….**

They knew that the Ghost Zone and the Real World were complimentary of each other and interconnected as well. But what the trio had discovered when they were plotting the map of the Ghost Zone was that they were also different.

One of the distinctions they noticed was that the two worlds rotated differently from the other. While the Real World rotated west to east to the casual observer, the Ghost Zone rotated in the opposite way, _east to west_. But the Ghost Zone differed even more with the Real World in its rotation laws. Sometimes it would wobble in its rotation, changing at one precise point whenever it did, so those same rotations would reverse.

And once in a blue moon, it also did something very odd. It would fold in on itself as well on its north-south line, so that half of its rotation would rotate east to west and the other west to east. Where they joined created an infinite corridor that actually allowed the Ghost Zone to be essentially endless, spanning in all directions from that point of intersection.

And the Ghost Zone rotations did not go the same speed as the Real World. They were much, much slower because of the odd, changing rotations. So, time didn't elapse as quickly as in the Real World—or sometimes time would stop all together when the odd rotations manifested themselves. Aging in the ghosts was really almost a second thought because of it.

And even though it seemed to an inexperienced visitor that the ghosts did age, by how much was anyone's guess. A ghost who appeared to be, say, twenty, could very well be ten times that age in relative terms in the Real World—all due to the odd effects of the Ghost Zone's rotation laws.

But the three best friends had always wondered why the ghost had aged in the alternate parallel universe where Evil Dan existed. They guessed that these laws must have somehow all changed there. They couldn't be sure, but they did have a theory:

The havoc which that wicked shadow of that altered future had inflicted upon the Real World must have been so devastating, that the calamitous energy generated by the evil ghost had had a ripple effect on the Ghost Zone. And that ripple became an irreversible wave of destruction of tsunami proportions, riveting the Ghost Zone on its axes to such a horrific extent that the rotation of the Ghost Zone had actually been put permanently in sync with the Real World. And because of that, the ghosts began to age just as their counterparts in the Real World did; which of course, would explain how Danny had encountered very old versions of some of his ghostly enemies in the Ghost Zone during that alternate future....

But, there was another feature of the whole Ghost Zone rotation thing that was especially unique. No matter how it rotated, the points of change in the rotating axes all intersected at Amity Park, and more specifically, at the Fenton Portal. The little town, then, served like the North Star as it were for the Ghost Zone, which would explain why ghosts seemed to gravitate toward it, and why that little town was the most haunted place on Earth.

Then there were the portals that appeared between the worlds. Frostbite had said they were random, yet naturally-occurring, and only the Infi-Map could find them all. But what Frostbite hadn't told them was what the trio had—again—discovered on their own. And that was that there were two kinds of portals. Some were stationery, like the North Star and, depending on the particular pattern of rotation that was occurring in the Ghost Zone, opened at random _times _in terms of when they would appear and for how long they would remain open.

Other portals appeared randomly in _place and time_ and those were harder to find—unless you had the Infi-Map, or if you knew another little characteristic of the Ghost Zone. Something that Tucker and his friends had also found out from their many dealings there. And that was that the place and time of these random portals almost followed several patterns of movement in their behavior--not unlike the weather patterns in different parts of the Real World. And if you knew those patterns, you could get pretty good at being able to predict when and where the portals might appear. That was why so many ghosts could enter the Real World—and why Danny was so busy fighting the ghosts that did.

Another complimentary characteristic about the two worlds was that whenever it was night in Amity Park, it was the ghosts' daylight and vice versa. For that reason, ghosts were mostly active during the night in Amity Park. It was their 'daytime' hours in that little town, even if they didn't have a 'real' sun during those 'daylight' hours.

They did have a sun of sorts, but it was just a ghostly one that was so wraithlike it hardly was identifiable in their world. Instead, their ghostly lighting orb bathed the Ghost Zone in a diffuse light for their 'daylight' hours and was replaced by a much weaker moon-like one during their 'nighttime'.

And even though most ghosts were only active during the nights in the Real World, ghosts of higher power levels were able to remain active at will, saving their need for rest in snippets.

So, with all this information, the three best friends realized how complicated and interconnected the two worlds were. And especially because of how complicated and strange the Ghost Zone was, it was very easy for a visitor to get lost there. In order to make it as trouble-free to map as possible--and discern where they were in the Ghost Zone--the friends had decided to divide the two worlds into what they called _parallels_, which, for reference, ran from north pole to south pole not unlike longitudinal lines. And whenever the three wanted to enter or leave the Ghost Zone, they needed to line up those parallels in order to get back to Amity Park—or to find a particular point in the Ghost Zone to where they wanted to go.

Tucker had made it a cinch for them—well, really, easier for him and Sam—to find their way between the two worlds ever since they found out all about the Ghost Zone's 'laws'. He had meticulously entered all the data into his PDA and created a "GPS" program exclusive for the Ghost Zone, which he called the Ghost Zone Global Positioning System—or GZ-GPS for short. With it, the only way they would get lost was for him to be without his PDA. And he knew **what** the chances were that he **would be** **without** it.

Danny, on the other hand, had Tucker download his "GZ-GPS" program onto his cell phone so that he would have it when he needed it. But, really, once he was familiar with the areas of the Ghost Zone, he didn't use the mapping system. He still got lost, of course, but that was occurring less frequently now that he had realized how important it was to pay more attention to his surroundings. And when he finally got that into his head, he made a surprising discovery about himself.

Once he knew the area, he had an uncanny inner "GPS" sense of his own--in both worlds. He hardly needed more than one reference point and never needed more than two to know exactly where he was in the Ghost Zone, or know exactly where he was in relationship to the Real World. But he also didn't need more than two points of reference to know how to coordinate the two world's parallels so that he could pinpoint nearly right where he wanted to go. Therefore, he could effortlessly enter and exit either world at will.

And Danny could also tell time in both worlds with a similar kind of inner sense—by using the position of either of their suns. That never ceased to amaze his friends, even if Danny had taken all that in stride now**……**

Tucker finally got all the programs he needed interfaced and pushed the final button. Bertrand, still unhappily trapped in the ghost-proof netting, was suddenly pushed through the portal Tucker's PDA created. Just as the ghost entered the portal, Tucker cut off the energy source and the portal disappeared, along with Bertrand.

And Bertrand now found himself floating in the Far Frozen. He instantly growled in as much irritation as the amount of shivering he was doing from the frigid elements.

Tucker finally could sigh in relief, but then his heart skipped a beat with the dreadful realization. "Valerie!" he cried out.

Because of his unplanned encounter with Bertrand, he hadn't been able to get her out of the Ghost Zone!


	23. Chapter 23 Tension in the Air

**A/N: Well, how is everyone doing? Have you calmed down after the last chapter? You haven't? Well, sorry to hear that, because there's just more havoc on the way. So, just relax, get some popcorn, and be ready to pull your hair out now that Chapter 23 is here! And, of course, don't forget that mantra: IDNOAC, IDNOAC…Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 23—Tension in the Air

Sam anxiously paced her room, looking at her watch every fifteen seconds, though to her, it felt as if she was looking at it every fifteen _minutes_.

He's been gone too long—again!" she mumbled worriedly. She knew that whenever her boyfriend didn't get back with her in the usual amount of time, that was _not_ good news.

She dialed Danny's number for the sixth time in the past hour. And all she kept getting was his answering machine. She had even broken down and tried to call Tucker again; but by the instant message she heard without even hearing a single ringing sound on his end, she knew he _still_ didn't even have it _on._ Also _not_ good news.

Finally, she had had enough. She went to her closet and pulled out her rocket booster, the one the Fentons had given her after the Poisoned Ghost War. She began to strap it on when she suddenly thought of something else she needed to do.

"Oh, darn it!" she grumbled slightly, but put the booster aside just the same, and quickly left the room.

She had almost forgotten that she had made a promise to her grandmother to let the old woman in on some—but definitely not all the details— of her plans more often than before. Why had she made that promise, she didn't know—well, she really did—but she had made it soon after the Spectre mystery thing. After that harrowing experience, the girl didn't want to have something like that happen in the future, with maybe tragic results, and have her grandmother and even her family left hanging, wondering what had happened to her. It made her understand their…feelings…more.

She returned in hardly any time, knowing that she could go now that she had told her grandmother that she had some kind of errand to do. She quickly strapped her booster on with determination and hurried over to her window. She threw her windows open without hesitation, activated her booster, and soared up into the dark, winter sky…

After about twenty minutes of aimless searching, Sam was becoming more and more frustrated and worried. Underneath, she knew that what she was doing was pointless, because she, of course, had no idea on where to begin to look for Danny. But she also knew that it was pointless for her to remain at home sick with worry. At least now she was doing _something_, even it were a _pointless_ something…..She continued to scan the horizon…

But after a few more very long minutes, she grunted with a mounting concern. Where could her boyfriend be? He was just searching for Tucker…Tucker! She mentally smacked herself on her forehead. Muttering an irritated "Duh!" to herself, she turned to head toward her bespectacled friend's home.

At this point, she was so worried about Danny, she wasn't even thinking about how Tucker had upset her at Valerie's party. In fact, she was now beginning to worry about Tucker…He had been so distraught the last time she had last seen him, she just knew she couldn't be angry with him any more. Now, she was more determined. She had to find at least _one _of her best friends!

* * *

Tucker's heart began to race. Valerie could be anywhere in the Ghost Zone by now! If only Bertrand had not attacked him like he did, he would have immediately made another portal and she would be safely back here. Still, he had had no choice. Her being in the Ghost Zone was sort of safer than what would have happened to her had he _not_ made the portal. But only by a very small degree.

He pounded on his futuristic PDA, desperately scanning the readings, seeing if he could narrow down the possible coordinates of where he could have sent Valerie. But he grumbled in frustration when he saw there were now several dozen of possibilities of where she could be. He began the process of narrowing that further when he heard a familiar sound above him. He looked upward and saw in the near distance a flying booster…a flying booster with Sam attached to it, that is..

He instinctually called out to her, but then realized she was too far away. Suddenly he hit himself on his forehead, irritated with himself, and uttered, "Duh!" He also then realized he was no longer upset with her. Or, at least, he couldn't afford to be now that he was worried about Valerie—and Danny.

He pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. Ignoring the "messages' alert sound immediately coming from his phone, he quickly dialed Sam's number.

She answered in an instant and he wasn't ready for her verbal barrage. "Tucker! Are you all right? Where have you been? We've been looking for you all night! And now Danny's not answering his phone! Have you seen him? I'm worried! But you're all right, aren't you?"

He didn't know where to start at first, but he, too, peppered his answers back to her. "I'm fine. And I'm not sure where Danny is, either! He might have gotten attacked by Valerie, but it's **not my fault**! And now Valerie's missing, too, but that **is **my fault because I sent her to the Ghost Zone to save her from Bertrand who had attacked her after she attacked Danny and…."

"Hang on! I see you!" Sam interrupted him.

She was already riled up and now when Tucker had told her about Danny, she began to panic and didn't hear his last comment about Valerie. It had taken her a moment, but the clear, moonlit night didn't hinder her much in finally seeing her friend. "I'll be right there!"

And by the time Tucker hung up, she was right next to him. She quickly turned off her booster before grasping him by the shoulders and giving him a quick hug in relief. But in the very next instant, she gave one of his shoulders a firm punch.

He was totally surprised by both of her actions as he yelled out from her blow. "OW! What's that for?"

"For making Danny go look for you and making me sick with worry about the both of you! And you said Valerie attacked Danny? How do you know? I just _knew_ something had happened to him because he wouldn't answer his phone!"

Tucker quickly told Sam what he had witnessed after coming out of the woods concerning their friend. He was so anxious about Danny and Valerie that he didn't go into any details of why he had run away from the party; and, sort of fortunately, Sam was too worried about Danny to ask. But before he could go into details about Valerie's encounter with Bertrand, Sam piped in.

"This is bad, Tucker," she said, biting her lower lip with worry. "Darn her! He wasn't doing anything but looking for you! Where could he be?"

He cringed at her quick, verbal swipe at Valerie, but didn't say anything. He was too relieved that she hadn't blamed him for the fact that Valerie may have injured their friend to make any comment. Suddenly, a thought surfaced. He said, "Did you try, ya know…"

She looked at him, bewildered at first. But when their eyes connected, she gasped, her eyes widening when she caught on to what he was referring. "No! I didn't! I was so upset, I didn't think of that! Give me a minute…"

She closed her eyes and concentrated, but a few moments later, she opened her eyes with another gasp. "Something is totally wrong! He must be unconscious! I can't get through to him like the last time he was unconscious." She stopped and paused; and then said really to herself. "Or maybe he wasn't _totally_ unconscious back then? Maybe he was _almost_ unconscious right after he got shot by Valerie and almost slammed into the ground? That would explain why I was able to help him snap out of it." She suddenly gasped at her next thought, "Oh, no! But not _now!_ He's hurt—badly! I just know it!"

She turned to Tucker with dread in her eyes.

He wanted to ask her what she meant that she had help Danny 'snap out of becoming unconscious'. How could she do _that?_ And how could she be so certain that their friend was unconscious or hurt? He knew of their psychic connection, of course, but he didn't know to what extent it worked between the two of them. But he was too concerned about the matter at hand to question her. And then, his friend's comments interrupted his thoughts.

"We have to find him!"

"And Valerie!" he added, his voice plainly as worried as she.

"What?" she gasped, before scrunching her face in sudden anger. "Why would we have to do that? Hasn't she caused enough trouble?"

But, of course, Tucker didn't know that she had not really heard what he had first said to Sam about Valerie's being accidentally sent to the Ghost Zone. And he had yet been able to explain everything that he had seen during Valerie and Bertrand's encounter.

But he immediately frowned in irritation at her remarks instead. And he didn't realize that he growled his response, when all of his emotions that drove him away from the party unexpectedly resurfaced. "All right! Valerie might have attacked Danny, but I'm really not sure because I didn't actually see her attacking him! But it's _not my fault_! And, just so you know, you can go all 'ungoth' now! I'm calling it off! I'm breaking up with Valerie. As soon as I find her, that is!"

Sam gasped in shock. Sure, she was angry at Valerie—again, but she hadn't expected _this_. "What? You don't mean that, do you?"

"Yes, I do!" he said more firmly. "I can't trust and _**not**_ trust her at the same time! I won't ever let her know about Danny's secret, yet I can't have the kind of relationship that I want with Valerie, either, and keep that secret! And now it's even worse! She's obviously ready to trust me—us—with her secret, but I—and really, we—can't do the same with her! And that's so unfair! I can't do that to her, Sam, so it's best if I just break it all off for both Danny and her sakes!" He was suddenly aware of his rapid breathing and hot face.

Sam truly didn't know what to say, but she had a hunch that whatever she thought about saying wouldn't help the situation. But Tucker didn't give her the chance.

He quickly added, "But we can't get stuck on all that right now 'cause we have to find her and Danny! And I agree with you! I've got a strange feeling that Danny's in trouble. And if Valerie's in the Ghost Zone, that can't be good news for her, either. And just so you know, just because I can't be with Valerie anymore doesn't mean I don't still care about her. And you _must_ definitely know by now that I'd never abandon my brother."

Sam bit her inner lip with guilt. She swallowed hard before saying, "OK. I agree with you. But I want to know what happened. Maybe you can fill me in while we go get your booster? We'll need it before we plan anything else, OK?"

He barely nodded his head in acknowledgement and he knew what to do. And he somehow knew that she understood him, and, somehow, that she was no longer angry at him…or Valerie. He suddenly relaxed as his anger at Sam slid right off of him. They quickly reached out and wrapped their arms around each other's waist just as Sam activated her booster.

And as they charged toward Tucker's home, the boy talked non-stop about everything that had happened.

* * *

The lynx groaned as the pain shooting through his body finally made him regain his senses. More pain jolted down his ghostly spine when he tried to move. But he gritted his teeth and forced himself to lift his head and open his eyes.

At first, he saw nothing but blackness. He gasped, and then, winced when even the small movements of his eyelids caused more pain. Trying not to panic, his eyes finally focused enough to let him see that he was in some kind of room; and, except for the diffuse nightly light that bled through the nearby window, it was enveloped in darkness. And then, he remembered where he was and what had happened.

He pricked his ears up, concentrating on catching any sound. Satisfied that he couldn't hear anything, he chanced whispering, "Sarah?"

But he heard nothing. Suddenly, his ears picked up the sound of a loud creak and he froze. But a few moments later, he knew that nothing had come out of it.

He could not have known that both he and his wife were currently totally alone in the front room of Spectra's lair. Bertrand was now at the Far Frozen, complements of Tucker; and in desperation over the aged condition she was in, Spectra had gone to look for the machine…and Bertrand—in that order.

"Sarah?" the lynx repeated, trying not to panic. Where _was_ she? This time, a weak groan answered him. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Are you all right?"

Sarah didn't answer him at first, and he grew nervous.

He was about to say something, when he barely heard her response. "I will be all right, Husband."

Still not convinced, he uttered, "Are you certain, Darling?"

She smiled weakly but he could not see that his concern for her well-being had pleased her. She struggled to move as she replied, "Yes, I am certain, my love. Thank you. But why is it so dark?"

Now satisfied that she sounded stronger, he sniffed the air and pricked up his ears. A moment later, he said, "I am not sure, but I think we are now alone here. That may be good and that may be bad. I do not know where those two wicked ghosts are, but I can say with certainty that we _are _alone at this moment.

He then directed his ears toward the flutter of air that he was sure caused by her wings. His still blurry vision strained to see her ghostly shadow as she was making a concerted effort to stand upright. But then she groaned in pain once more.

"Sarah!" he said with more concern when he realized she was in pain, and that he couldn't fly to her side right now.

"Do not worry!" she said, trying to assure him. But then, she stumbled and fell into the nearby bars, the force of her fall shaking the cage slightly.

He gasped and jumped up in dread, ignoring his own pain. But he knew he was helpless to come to her aid.

Suddenly, she yelled, "Derek!"

His inner core tightened, thinking she was severely injured.

"Derek!" she yelled again, and this time he realized that her tone was from excitement, not pain. "There's…there's a _hole_ in the bars near the bottom of my cage! I might be able to make it larger and squeeze through!"

It didn't matter to either of them how that had happened. They didn't realize that the bars that Sarah had pressed herself against in dread had been weakened by Spectra's attack on her. And when Sarah's body had slammed into the very same bars when she had stumbled just now, the bars buckled.

"Are you sure?" he asked excitedly.

"Let me see," she began just as she went over to the small hole abutting the bottom of the cage. "Yes, they are loose! I'm going to try to pull them apart!" She went right to work and used her beak to bow out the brittle and loosen bars.

Derek clenched his jaw in anticipation as he heard the tiny echoes of beak upon metal. He could barely see his wife's shadow as she hurriedly worked.

She was finally making some headway when they both froze in alarm in the next instant.

Something was entering the lair!


	24. Chapter 24 Inside the Ghost Zone

**A/N: Well, I think y'all have waited long enough to see what's happening to Danny and Valerie while they're inside the Ghost Zone! In fact, looks like I made you wait an extra day! Sorry…did that quick 'out-of-town-but-now-am-back' thing. In any case, I hope you'll think it was worth the wait; 'cause, as you'll soon see, it's going to be a wild ride for the two of them while they're there. And don't be shy and throw your delicious thoughts my way any time. So, without further blather, here is Chapter 24. Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 24—Inside the Ghost Zone

"Where am I?" Valerie said, scanning the strange area. It did look a little familiar, like the last time she was in here, but she was sure it was not the same area. She pushed a button on her wrist and an instrument dutifully popped up. She gasped on how wildly the dials were moving as they frantically picked up all kinds of ghostly readings. But their conclusions were not clear at all.

She swallowed hard. She had never used her instruments in the Ghost Zone before, and now that she was looking at them, she wished she hadn't. She wondered if the readings were even right. She had never realized in that relatively short time she was in here before that there could be so many ghosts in once place at one time **ever**. One thing she was sure of, though; she was definitely not in Kansas anymore.

But if her devices were even partially right, she was absolutely certain she wouldn't be able to fight all those ghosts at once. She had to get out of here—if she could.

Caution was her best ally right now. She stepped on a button under her boot and her hover-board slowly inched forward. Not that she really had a choice about it. Her board was still damaged from her fight with Bertrand and from the explosion caused by her own weapons.

Moving her head in all directions as she floated slowly onward, she thought, _"This looks like the same place I was somehow thrown into when I went after Phantom a couple of weeks ago. But, of course, I got out as fast as I could through those….portals! Portals! That's how I got in and out the last time and how I got in this time! How did that happen?" _

But she knew she didn't have the time to think about it. She had to get back into the Real World—and the sooner, the better. Not really sure exactly how she was going to do that, she scanned the green, purple and black atmosphere. As her hover-board continued to putt forward, she looked in awe at all of those floating doors and shelves that heavily littered the Ghost Zone. It was a remarkable place, even if she didn't want to admit that it intimidated her as well.

She had gone just a little further on when she suddenly jolted to a stop, her gaze locking on a large green boulder sitting upon a purple shelf just ahead. Her eyes scrunched, trying to make some sense as to what they were perceiving. What was that black thing laying there in the shadows? It was barely visible, even with her enhanced vision.

She checked her instruments, pushing buttons as she did. She startled at the results. They were even more awry. Unsatisfied, she pushed a few more buttons to recheck the readings. At first, there was nothing more unusual than all the crazy readings she had been getting. But then, there was an odd and rather large spike in that confusing data. A very _familiar_ spike. However, she frowned immediately afterward, when that rise in spectral energy level began to wane. Still, she had seen that measure of ghostly energy before. And that could mean only one thing…

"It can't be!" she then unconsciously muttered under her breath in disbelief. "But I'll have to make certain since my instruments are going all wonky!"

She stepped on the accelerator and her hover-board inched ahead, not changing in speed at all. Still, she kept her eyes glued to the black-and—now she could see—white entity that remained motionless at the base of the boulder. Finally, she was within clear visual range and she gasped. "It _is _Phantom!" she growled angrily under her breath as the black-and-white blur took on that familiar shape. "Darn it! He may have escaped me the last time—again! But it looks like he's right where I want him. You're number is finally up, punk!"

Her hover-board continued to chug slowly forward and a large, cannon-like weapon sprang out from her suit. She looked into its sites and only then did she realize how excited she was because her shaking arm was not holding the gun as steady as she usually did.

"What gives?" she asked herself, looking inscrutably at her quivering arm and lowering her weapon. She growled, irritated with her hesitation this time. "He's just one more ghost and a mighty _big _pain in my side. I can't even believe how he's managed to get out of every one of my attempts to be rid of him! And now, he can't do a thing about it! He's all _mine!_"

She quickly shook off that pesky little reaction away and gritted her teeth in more determination. "Can't lose my concentration! He certainly would do the same to me if he found me in the same boat!" she growled, bringing the weapon's site back up to her right eye. _"'Same boat'?"_ she unconsciously repeated, suddenly thinking about Tucker, and lowering her weapon once more. That's what he said to her when she was thinking about canceling her party…that they were in the 'same boat' of being bummed about Sam's kissing Armen and her almost kissing Phantom. And then being upset about Danny and Sam's being upset with each other.

She frowned in sorrow as her thoughts of Tucker suddenly flooded her mind. But she pushed them desperately away. She wouldn't let herself be distracted by them. She couldn't. She hated that Ghost Boy, and she didn't want to miss this opportunity now that she believed him to be still unconscious. He was too close to her right now, and just as close to being obliterated by her. She shook her head in another effort to drive out Tucker's distressed look over discovering that she was the Red Huntress just before she lifted her gun up once more. . But, suddenly, something happened with that attempt. She was aware of a creeping little inner voice coming from within as it whispered, "_Still, it seems unfair to have him go down without a fight."_

"Enough of this!" she hissed as she concentrated on her aim. "As if he would give me a fighting chance _or_ as if he put up any sort of fight worthy of fairness before!" But she then gasped at what she spied in her sites.

A blue haze was all of the sudden appearing and surrounding the Ghost Boy!

"It's a trap!" she uttered in shock and began to squeeze the trigger. However, before she could fire, her ghost alarm went off. She ignored it, thinking that it was just acting up from being in here or maybe confirming the fact that Phantom was now in the range of her weapon. But then suddenly, two sets of strong and aggressive ghostly arms grabbed both of her arms from behind, and her weapon was jerked upward as it fired prematurely in that same upward direction. Her two attackers hadn't even looked at where she had been aiming as they tightened their hold.

She accidentally dropped her weapon as she struggled to free herself from her attackers. Still, they were able to pull her off her hover-board and began to whisk her away. She screamed in defiance as she fought them.

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Danny was suddenly aware that he was surrounded by total darkness. He groaned and the blackness slowly ebbed into greenness, purpleness and blackness when he opened his eyes. And just as Valerie had been able to register his energy reading, his blurry vision began to clear at the same rate as his memory. And he realized he was in the Ghost Zone.

The electrical pain jolting through his side sped up the rate of his lucidity, and he reflexively touched it and winced. Obviously, he hadn't fully recovered from Valerie's attack. He could feel the warm ectoplasm as it continued to ooze from the large wound. He suddenly felt weaker, as if he might drift out of consciousness again. He groaned again at the pressure in his breathing, and he knew he wouldn't really need to have any heavy bricks on his chest to know how it felt.

But he made himself concentrate and a blue haze suddenly enveloped him. He struggled to keep it up, feeling the black curtain insist on falling upon his eyes again as he did. Finally, the searing pain began to melt away and his breathing eased. His head began to clear and he relaxed a little as he felt his strength slowly return.

But before he could finish, he suddenly heard a frantic, yet angry, cry nearby. He instantly recognized it. Valerie!

"_What's she doing here? She's going to be in a lot of danger if she stays here!"_ was his next thought. But then, he shot up to an alert sitting position, his next immediate thought unexpectedly coming into sharp focus.

Ignoring the twinge of pain he still had in his side, he thought, "_Then again, if she's here, she just must be still after me! Did she just find me? Then why did she yell? Better move then!"_

He jumped up in alarm at that thought, but just as sudden, stifled the groan that had eked out from the pain that shot through his side when he had moved too quickly. He hurriedly scanned the ghostly horizon toward the direction from which he thought the scream had come, and caught a glimpse of…Valerie's hover-board! But she was no where near it. He then finally saw her dilemma. She certainly wasn't after him—at least not now. Instead, she was tangling with a couple of tough-looking ghosts!

The boy immediately thrust himself upward and soared after the group. However, with his violent movement, an even more intense jolt pierced his side; and this time, he was unable to stop his painful, loud groan. With that, he was suddenly aware, as well as a little surprised, and _very_ chagrinned that he was moving a lot slower than he should—and wanted to—be.

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**_

"Let me go!" the Red Huntress heatedly demanded, straining to reach the controls to her weapons. But she couldn't reach them because each of her foes had pulled her arms completely apart and forcefully kept them pinned to her sides as they flew onward.

She struggled harder, trying to pull back and slow their pace. But the ghosts obviously noticed her ploy because they responded by tightening their grip on her and speeding up.

Meanwhile, Danny grunted when the gap between him and his targets seemed to rapidly widen. He tried to concentrate and summon his supersonic speed, but he instantly felt an indubitable bout of pain and dizziness just when he did. Instead of trying again, he slowed to a stop. It was then that he noticed that his breathing was still labored and his side still throbbed.

He hurried examined his side. He could see through the tear in his costume that was still there from Valerie's assault that his wound was healed. But he still had a fairly large, almost blacken, bruise in its stead. He did not know that he had not only suffered that nasty gash, but that the injury also included a couple of broken ribs—which had not yet been given enough time to heal.

"Man, what's wrong?" the boy groaned through his painful pants. But he was just as irritated at himself as he was in pain. "I thought my healing power had done the job!" He grunted again, "Duh, obviously not, Fenton! Should've given it more time! But I don't have the time!" He suddenly winced in pain before sighing, "I guess I'll just have to _take_ the time! I—and even Valerie—will depend on it!"

In the next instant, he concentrated and the bright blue aura enveloped him once again. Though he knew that with each passing second, the chances of rescuing Valerie from her attackers moved farther away, he also knew he had no other choice at the moment. He was no good to helping her if he were as helpless as she was right now. So, he willed his power to continue even longer than he wanted to wait.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Danny extinguished the aura. He was sure he felt recovered enough now. He examined his side. The bruise was gone and his breathing was significantly easier. Feeling a sudden rush this time, he knew he had fully recovered at this attempt, and he was right. He no longer had the gash, the bruise _or_ the broken ribs!

Now satisfied that he could finally get on with the task of finding Valerie—well, if he even _could _at this point—he scanned his surroundings. It took only one quick look at the nearby floating green shelf with the equally green boulder on top of it to know where he was. He would recognize that red, oozing scrawl upon the boulder anywhere!

Rolling his eyes in irritation, the teen uttered, "Not _them_!"

He had tangled with many ghosts to be sure: some well-known, others not at all; some powerful, others, not so much. But this _particular_ group of ghosts or more specifically, this particular _ghost gang, _was one he would not forget. Their paths, like many others, had crossed here quite a while ago. They called themselves _the_ _Wraiths_, and their leader went by the name of _Razilo __**(1)**_.

His encounter with them had been a _long_ and…. _interesting_ one… It was enough to say he did not feel like mentally diving into the details _at the moment_. But just knowing he was dealing with this ghost gang again made the teen frown with worry.

If Valerie was in their clutches, no telling what they would do to her. He groaned at the possibilities before muttering, "Geez, and the gangs in the Real World think _they're_ tough? They have _no_ idea! Still, it's good to know that I know where their lair is and that it's more than likely that they will be taking her to see Razilo.

He started to soar in the direction that he knew the ghost gang's lair would be. As he flew onward, he tried to come up with a quick plan. "I hope that there's still time. And I hope that Valerie stalled for that time by weighing her words carefully." Then thinking how acrid her words usually were when it came to confronting any ghost, he moaned, "Or not."

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In the meantime, Valerie still struggled with her captives, but they, in turn, grew as determined as she to get to their designation. They hadn't said a word to her in all the time that they held her, even though she gave them a very big piece of her mind.

Finally, the threesome arrived at the Wraiths' lair, and Valerie had to stifle her gasp when she saw a few dozen even meaner-looking ghosts hovering in the near distance. They were all gathered in a semi-circle around a lone ghost sitting on a floating black platform.

Upon that platform and behind the lone ghost stood what looked like a large black marker. But when Valerie got a better view of it, she could see that it was more like a tombstone. It seemed like a rather plain tombstone except for some large, shiny red blob on it. But as she drew even nearer than she wanted to be at this point, she could see that it was no longer a blob. It was some kind of writing. But the strokes were spidery and shiny. But they had looked shiny because they still looked _wet_, like the words had been written in fresh _human_ blood. Even as she looked at the scrawl, the red 'ink' continued to slowly ooze down the tombstone. But the words upon it never smeared. Was that even possible? Suddenly, Valerie didn't want to know.

Her two unplanned escorts didn't stop until they had practically bumped into that platform. Valerie forced herself to keep her head and body erect against the firm hold of her guards as she looked up at what she had quickly concluded must be the leader. She didn't want him or any of the other ghosts surrounding her to see how terrified she had now become. But secretly, she was also glad she still had her helmet on, which shielded her anxious face.

As she studied the very powerful-looking ghost now silently glancing down at her, it was obvious that he was not a blob of a ghost like some of the others here—including the two ghosts who had captured her. He definitely seemed to be a human ghost for the most part. He had a black kerchief pulled tightly over his head; and the only evidence of any hair being upon his skull was the makeshift ebony pony tail that jutted from behind the tight knot that secured the kerchief. The only other hair that Valerie could see was the scraggily short beard that jutted out like spikes from his chin.

Razilo had gold rings in both of his ears and a red spike through one of his thick dark eyebrows that loomed over his eyes. His eyes…they looked the least human. Though he had pupils, they were as red flares that pulsated in various degrees of intensity. And they rested within deep pockets of his lean, yet craggy, blue-tone face that, Valerie was sure, had seen its share of violent fights.

The rest of the Wraith's leader was dressed in black leather. His jacket was loose and open, revealing a sleeveless black undershirt with the same red words emblazoned upon it at his chest. A thick leather belt imbedded with silver spikes jumping within the hoops of the interconnecting silver chain separated jacket and pants. And on his feet he had sturdy black boots.

The petrifying suspense only mounted when the leader still wasn't saying anything. In fact, he looked a little bored over the whole thing. Valerie calmed a little with that and darted her eyes to her sides, trying to see just how many ghosts were here. She finally noticed what she hadn't before. Each of the ghosts she was able to see without seeming obvious had those same crimson words tattooed upon their upper right arm.

But her eyes quickly darted back to the front at the sound of leather moving. She looked back up at the leader just as he was removing his jacket and throwing it to the side, as if he were readying himself for a fight. Valerie swallowed hard when she saw his strong blue arms tense under the wide leather wrist bands similarly adorned as his belt. Then she finally saw the red tattoo that matched the one on the tombstone, the other ghosts, and the leader's shirt. Just like all these places upon which it had been imprinted, the tattoo vibrantly oozed down his right upper arm. And then at long last, she tried to read those words. As she did, the clarity of those scarlet words finally sunk the reality in her mind: _Wraith Brotherhood._ She had stumbled upon a ghost gang!

Again, she steeled herself. She couldn't let them think she was afraid, even though right now she was ten times that. She struggled to make her mind focus on what she was going to say, when her thoughts were interrupted by a gravelly, deep voice.

"So, what have we here?" Razilo slowly said, sounding as bored as he had looked. "Seems like we've encountered this creature before—just not on our turf."

His remark was answered by a few snickers but those quickly hushed when Razilo's eyes flared.

"D-Do I know you?" Valerie managed to say, but bit her lip when she realized she had stammered her response. She was sure she would have remembered him.

Razilo floated down so that he was now face-to-face with the Red Huntress. He answered her, but his lips hardly moved away from the slight snarl on them, "In a word, no, but you have met my brothers many times in the Real World. I am sure they still have the scars from your inhospitable welcome."

A few of the other ghosts shifted and mumbled in anger; but Valerie, who was in front of them and still closest to Razilo, had only heard their angry murmurs. She again swallowed hard, but still pressed on, "They had no business being there…."

"As you do **here**?" he snapped back, rudely interrupting her.

She tried to ignore it when fire spit outward a little from his eyes when he said that. Still, she also didn't want to admit that he had a point. "It's not my fault that I'm here," she countered firmly. "I fell into a portal, otherwise, I wouldn't have ever wanted to come here!"

"So, you have disdain for us in either world?" Razilo challenged. He briefly glanced at one of the gang members holding the girl. Then he quickly returned his gaze to her. But he didn't give her a chance to answer. He tersely added, "Obviously so, since you continue to show your inhospitable manners with the masking of your face!"

Before Valerie could object, the ghost to her left had yanked off her helmet.

She couldn't stifle her gasp at that unexpected action. But what confused her most was that all the other ghosts around her—except Razilo—had also gasped in surprise.

"Well, well, well, if this isn't a little delicious twist to it all," he remarked to Valerie before turning his eyes totally upon her. He suddenly laughed in amusement at the sudden obviousness of it before turning to his gang and saying, "Can you imagine, my brothers, that we have been getting beaten by not only a human warrior, but a human _girl_ warrior?"

He gave her another quick look over, ignoring the uncomfortable blush on Valerie's face as he added, "And a beautiful one at that? But his tone suddenly turned darker at his next words. "Quite impressive, but unwise on her part, for sure. Unwise, because for one so beautiful and fierce, she's not very smart for a hunter. She should have seen and not ignored our warning signs. She should have known that the Wraiths don't let anything —ghost or otherwise— come into, or even pass through, our territory unless they bear the mark of the brotherhood."

Unexpectedly, however, the Wraiths muttered in _disagreement_ before quieting once more upon the signal of Razilo's flashing eyes.

He angrily answered them at once, "_That_ one does _not_ count!"

They immediately hushed to dead silence again.

Valerie looked at him in confusion. What did he mean by that? But he interrupted her musings once more.

"And we all can see here that she neither has the mark or, should I say, the obvious requirements. Then, shall we return the inhospitable welcome to her?"

Just as he said that, Razilo produced the thing that had earned him his nickname. His right hand suddenly morphed into a long, wicked-looking, thin blazing blade the color of his blue skin. Its flame suddenly increased in intensity just before he brandished it very closely to Valerie's face.

Valerie's eyes widen only a moment when she felt the heat of the razor sharp knife; but then, she mustered her grit and hissed, "So, then, seeing that you're willing to hurt me when I can't defend myself right now, all I can say is that each of you then deserved everything I've done to your '_brotherhood' _in the Real World!"

Razilo, though angered by her words, was just as impressed by them. She was totally within his power, but still was able to defy him. He liked that as much as he liked how beautiful she was. He smiled as he suddenly brought up his other hand to her cheek and softly stroked it.

She reflexively recoiled from that but he continued to smile as he said, "Maybe I can persuade you to be hospitable before I send you back to your kind."

His words only angered the girl more. Pulling against her guards, she firmly replied, "You think that just because I got here by accident and then brought to you by force that I would want to stay here by falling for your fake charm? You're just as slimy as any other ghost, then! Just let me show you how hospitable I'd really be if I had my weapons!"

"Watch your tongue, human!" Razilo suddenly seethed, his eyes and bladed hand flaring with his anger. "I would not press your luck if I were you."

"As if by your own admission that you'd ever given anyone a chance in the past!" she bravely countered. "Sounds like to me that you all are just a bunch of rotten punks, using their scare tactics to intimidate anyone in your clutches! That's _so_ like all the ghost cowards I know!"

Suddenly, one of those ghosts in particular came to her mind and she sarcastically added, "Besides, what you say isn't true about not letting any ghost or anything else into your territory! I'll have you know that another coward of a ghost that doesn't have your 'required mark' has also invaded your turf, and is still in it! And I know where he is. I would think he's caused just about as much trouble with you as he has with me. You should think that he was just as unwanted—or more."

….'Coward of a ghost'….the words echoed in Razilo's mind. He wondered what this human was up to. Was she bluffing? And just what was she talking about? This might be another trespasser. Or it might be the one ghost that had invaded their turf in the past—and had survived. He, too, had accidentally stumbled into their domain. And he, too, had ignored their warning signs—the red stains of the Wraith Brotherhood that outlined their territory.

Now that he thought about that ghost, Razilo was still amazed that it took a dozen of his strongest gang members to capture him and bring him to the lair that time. Of course, it was really luck that they had, since they probably wouldn't have been able to do that if a stray Wraith ray had not plowed him into a boulder. That impact had been enough to stun him before they could actually lay their hands on him. And once they did get a hold of him, it took several blows to subdue him. But it didn't matter how they had captured him. All that matter was that they regretted that they did.

The Wraiths had found out the hard way that that ghost—whose name they'd never forget—wasn't _even trying_ to fight them when they had encountered him in the first place. Razilo had found out much later from those dozen Wraiths that had first challenged him at their border that _that_ ghost, that _Phantom_, had actually tried to talk them out of getting hostile. But, of course, the Wraiths had taken his own subtle warning as a sign of cowardice. And they couldn't have been more wrong.

Even the Wraith leader had been fooled by the ghost at first. Danny Phantom was just a kid compared to him. He was just a bit shorter, definitely leaner, and, of course, a lot younger. He was no threat. But as Razilo was quick to find out, his blue blade was no match for the young hybrid. When the gang leader had tried to intimidate the boy with the majesty and strength of his morphed razor, Phantom had merely answered it with ten of his own green ones—_his wulf claws_. Before the Wraith leader knew it, his blade was sheared to his wrist, all of his gang were either frozen, or blown away by the kid's powerful wail, and then all ten of Danny's claws were back at the leader's throat!

Danny Phantom had definitely won the day then. But then, he had also won the eternal respect of all the Wraiths when the young teen hadn't done more than subdue them in turn and warn them to give other wayward ghosts a break. And even though Danny had not known about it, from that day on, he was given a silent free pass throughout their territory. He had not even seen any Wraith in his path after that. They hadn't dared….

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Valerie repeated, pulling Razilo out of his thoughts. "Danny Phantom's in your territory!"

"So what?" Razilo finally answered, bringing his flaming blade close to Valerie's right upper arm. "I'd be worried more about yourself right now," he added as his razor lightly touched her arm.

The burning sting of his knife shot throughout the girl. She gritted her teeth, determined not to let him see how much it hurt. Instead, she jeered, "Cowards are all alike! I think that the Phantom punk would make a good member of this lame gang of yours after all!"

"That's enough of that! Now it's time for you to find out what we do with all our 'unwanteds' around here, girl!" he spat back as he raised his blade upward.

Suddenly, a powerful green ectoplasmic energy ray precisely blasted the blade, leaving a smoldering black heap of ash instead. Razilo gasped and looked up. But before he could react, another equally as powerful green ectoplasmic energy ray hit one of the ghosts holding Valerie dead-on without even flinching her. That ghost was wrenched away from the Red Huntress by the force of the blow, and her right arm was now free. Without hesitation, she pressed the buttons she had been seeking and a small weapon popped up. She immediately blasted the remaining ghost holding her to smithereens.

She was left floating in the air, yet free. But she did not expect to see what happened next, and she could only stare in disbelief as another large green beam hit Razilo squarely in his torso, jettisoning him violently away from the rest of the group.

That was all that the other gang members needed to make themselves scarce. In no time, the ghost gang had become as invisible as their name of their gang had implied.

Before Valerie knew it, she was all alone—and safe for the time being. She turned toward the direction where the green blast had come, wondering who her rescuer was and why only three blasts were needed to scare the afterlife out of this obviously tough gang. She had not known what the gang knew, and that was that they knew their attacker—and knew well enough not to mess with him or with her for that matter right now. But when she finally spied who it might be, all she could see was a black-and-white blur flying rapidly away from her.

She blinked her eyes in disbelief before narrowing them in hatred. She checked her instruments, but their still-crazy readings could not confirm what she suspected. Still, they did hint of an unusual—and that familiar—spike of ectoplasmic energy. Then, she wondered why….

But her thoughts were interrupted when her hover-board suddenly—and quickly—came into her view. "How did _that_ get here?" she mumbled, still watching it. "And how did it get fixed?" However as she tracked its movements, the board started to slow on its own and then, stopped about a hundred feet from her. Again confused by this, she pushed a button and the hover-board resumed its approach to her—at a very slow putter as it did before she was yanked off of it.

She hopped on the board and scanned the area again. She thought she might as well give it up when she studied the readings. All these extra ghostly artifacts she was picking up on were just scrambling all her instruments, making it very difficult for her to figure them out. She was about to turn her scanning devices off when she noticed a rather large spike in the readings once more.

"_How can that pick up that single ghost when I'm picking up bakoodles of energy signatures? How is that possible?"_ she asked herself before doing a double take on that spike in her readings. It seemed to be that _very_ familiar spike again; but, like a moment ago, she couldn't be certain. However, before she could ponder any more about it, she startled when a portal suddenly opened not more than a couple of feet from her. But, it was jagged around its edges, as if it were an actual tear in the fabric of the dimension.

She hadn't even thought of moving toward it yet when she felt an unseen force push her and her hover-board toward the portal. Sensing now that this might be _the_ very familiar ghost—Phantom—she growled under her breath as she entered the portal, "Maybe later, then, Ghost…."

"You're welcome!" the comment from nowhere interrupted her just after she had passed the entrance of the rapidly shrinking portal.

The Red Huntress turned around, wanting to say something, when she heard a strange sound come from the other side of the portal. She cocked her ear but the sound was choked off by the now completely shut portal. As the portal disappeared, Valerie could swear that the sound she heard was a …..cell phone?

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Sam and Tucker had been searching for Danny for over an hour. It was very late and they stopped to rest a moment.

"Can you try to reach him by phone again, Tucker?" Sam asked, "I'm going to try to reach him _my_ way, again, and maybe between the two of us, we might contact him."

Her friend nodded and immediately began to dial Danny's number, while Sam closed her eyes and concentrated.

Just as Danny had pushed Valerie safely out of the Ghost Zone, his cell phone rang. He reached in his pocket and got it. Just as he answered it, he also heard Sam's call.

"_Danny?" _

"Sam?" he said to his phone.

"No, dude, it's me, Tucker!" the relieved male voice on the end of the line said.

"Sorry, I thought you were Sam!"

"Well, she was sorta 'calling' you at the same time, you know, _your_ way, and looks like we both succeeded!" Tucker answered his friend with a relieved smile.

"_Looks like,"_ Sam mentally said to her boyfriend, just as relieved as Tucker.

Danny was about to say something to her when Tucker interrupted him, "Where are you anyway, dude, and what happened?"

"In the Ghost Zone. And where have _you_ been, dude?" Danny questioned him. "I've been looking for you for hours!"

His beret-wearing friend replied, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I got you and Sam so worried…So, why are you in the Ghost Zone?"

But Danny didn't want to tell him the real reason. Instead, he said, "Uhm, I'll tell you later when I get back, OK?"

"All right. But while you're there, could you go look for Valerie? She's there, too! By accident-kinda, but not kinda. But we don't have time for all that right now. Can you go look for her?"

Danny said, "Well, I kinda already found that out about her, Tuck. But she's safe. I got her back into the Real World just a minute ago."

Tucker sighed in relief before saying, "Thanks, man! I feel _so_ much better now! Meet you back at your place?"

"Sure, see ya soon," his friend said, before hanging up his phone. "_And I'll see you there, too, Sam?"_ He mentally asked his girl. After all, he was aware that she had been mentally listening in the whole time.

"_Uh, yeah. Sure. Uhm, sorry!... But you didn't object and…You know that I did that because…Uhm, see you there!"_ she haltingly said with embarrassment.

Danny laughed and then double-checked his injured side. It was fully healed and he felt normal again. With a tired sigh, he quickly prepared to get back to his home.

**A/N: 1. The Wraiths' leader's name is Esperanto for 'razor'. And, BTW, the little story of the **_**Wraith Brotherhood**_** is my OWN invention. But did the story beg me to tell you about it this time? Oh, no! It actually intimidated me to do so—Razilo's blade can be very persuasive, you know! Anyhow, hope you enjoyed it and hope to hear from y'all soon! truephan**


	25. Chapter 25 Disheartened

**A/N: Well, I hope that the last chapter satisfied you enough so you wouldn't start getting hungry for the next chappie until right about now. And, hey, you're in luck! I just so happen to have that next chapter ready for you to chew on! Here is Chapter 25. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 25—Disheartened

Danny had arrived at his home way before his friends did. He suddenly realized that he was starved and headed right to the kitchen. He quickly retrieved some snacks and made his way to his room. When he neared his parents' room, however, he stopped at their door. He quietly opened it and peeked in. He smiled in relief that they were asleep. Thankfully, all they knew was that he had gone to Valerie's party.

He shut the door as quietly as he had opened it; and then after dropping off most of the snacks in his room, he grabbed a granola bar, and headed toward Jazz's room. When he saw that a light was on under her door, he softly knocked on it.

"Come in," her voice quietly said.

Jazzed looked up from her book. She smiled when she saw that it was her little brother munching on a snack, and said, "That was a long party. Did you have fun?"

'I'll say it was, and not exactly," he said with a smirk, commenting on both of her replies in their exact order. But then, he proceeded to tell her between bites all that had happened at Valerie's party…

"Man, she really did that?" Jazz gasped upon hearing the part when Valerie revealed her secret to the three friends. "What was she thinking?"

"You know, before you said that, I hadn't had the chance to think about it," he remarked, grabbing his chin in thought before continuing. "But now that you mention it, that's a very good question. What _was _she thinking?" But he brushed those thoughts away for the moment as he added, "Well, anyway, there's more to the story."

Jazz gasped again when he told her about the fight he had with Valerie when she caught him looking for Tucker; and how he ended up in the Ghost Zone because of that. And then, he told her about everything that happened there, including Valerie's somehow being there and, of course, their encounter with the Wraiths.

Usually, she could keep level-headed with at least a calm 'psychotherapist' face on her whenever her little brother told her harrowing news such as this. But sometimes, even she could get a little fretful about all those scary things Danny did, even if most of them were all in a day's work for him. She finally said, "You're OK, aren't you? Well, of course, you're OK or you wouldn't be here telling me this, right? But you're OK, aren't you?"

Her brother smirked, "Yeah, I'm OK, thanks. And also thanks to that new healing power that Libro gave me, I'm as good as new. And, really, the Wraiths are nothing for me to worry about. They've sorta left me alone, well, since the first time I stumbled upon them. But still, they aren't to be taken lightly, either. They are a tough bunch when they want to be."

Jazz silently smirked at that remark. The Wraiths certainly weren't tough enough for her cool brother.

Then Danny added with a sigh, "Still, how Valerie got into the Ghost Zone is partly a mystery to me. Tucker somehow knew she was in there, but I don't know _how_ she got there. But all I care now is that she's safe and back in the Real World."

"Good, and…" Jazz began, but she was interrupted by Danny's cell phone ringing.

Her brother put up his right index finger, signaling to his sister to hang with that thought as he answered it. "Hello?"

"We're right outside your front door, dude," Tucker reported to his ear.

"I'll be right down," he replied before hanging up.

He turned to Jazz and said, "You were saying?"

"Oh, nothing important, so who was that?" she said with a curious look.

"Tucker and Sam are here, so I gotta go."

She glanced up at her clock. It was nearly one in the morning. "This late?" she replied, raising an eyebrow and scrunching her face a little.

"C'mon, Jazz! We haven't been able to figure everything that happened tonight yet. And it's a Friday!"

She immediately gave him a 'just kidding' look and said with a mischievous smile, "Well, let me know all about it when you've got it figure out, OK, little brother?"

He returned her grin and nodded just before he left her room.

* * *

In no time, the three best friends were snacking and talking in Danny's room—make that only Danny and Sam were snacking. Tucker wasn't interested in the least with that. Instead, he wanted to hear everything that had happened with the Wraiths. And when he did, he was not very happy to hear that Valerie had come that close to being hurt—maybe even permanently so. His face and shoulders finally drooped when Danny had told him and Sam the rest. He had felt so guilty about all of it—including, of course, the fact that Danny had ended up there by mistake, too!

"I still can't believe that this has all happened," Sam finally said with some edginess to her voice. But then, she saw the slight change in Tucker's face and realized he wasn't eating. She cringed when she also realized that he looked very sorry right after she had said that. She never did blame him and she wasn't upset with him anymore; but then, he was kind of the reason why that had all happened to Danny…and even Valerie…..She wondered if now was the time to bring up all that other stuff on how Danny and Valerie ended up in the Ghost Zone in the first place. But it suddenly made sense to do so. Besides, she wanted to know if Tucker had changed his mind on what he had told her about Valerie.

She added more gently this time, "Hey, Tucker, maybe now you should tell Danny why you left the party so suddenly, OK?"

Tucker's face would have fallen right to the ground if it weren't still attached to his head. Both of his friends noticed that right away and frowned in worry. Still, Danny and Sam waited patiently to hear what he had to say. And, at first, it was a _long_ patient wait because Tucker was surprised how hard it was to actually spell it out again.

Finally, Danny quietly said, "Look, dude, if you don't want to talk about it, we understand."

"No, that's OK, Danny. I owe it to you since I was sorta responsible for this whole thing. And I already sorta told Sam."

Sam scrunched her face a little more in worry. She had been hoping that since he had been so upset back then, he hadn't been serious about what he had told her earlier.

Tucker swallowed hard and his voice cracked a little as he said, "I ran away because I suddenly felt so….so _dishonest_." He paused and swallowed the lump down that was creeping up his throat.

His friends unconsciously bit their inner lips. He was _very_ serious. They listened more carefully as he continued, "It's like this: I think that when Valerie did that—told us her secret, that is—she was feeling like she could trust us more now. But then, I suddenly knew that I couldn't trust her with mine—I mean, our-- secret! I didn't know what to do or say, so I left before I could make matters worse."

The three of them fell to silence. They knew he was right. But before either Danny or Sam could say anything, Tucker spoke once more, and his words cracked, sounding drier than his throat felt. "But there's more. I don't think Valerie—or I should say---the _Red Huntress_ will ever **not** stop hating Danny Phantom."

He paused a little at his next silent thought. Valerie might as well have been slicing _him_ apart with how sharp that hatred-laced edge in her voice had been whenever she ranted on about Danny Phantom. He finally said, "It still gives me the creeps when she sounds so _heartless _whenever she talks about Phantom. I mean, she's talking about my _best friend_."

"Tuck..," Danny gently began.

But Tucker interrupted him, and motioning for him to stop, added, "No, it's OK, dude. I really understand. I think I'll just roll with it and break it off with Valerie. I had hoped it would--but guess it really won't--work out."

Sam gasped and Danny frowned. They knew he was _very_, _very_ serious. And they both wondered why did he keep saying he 'understood' when he was so obviously upset about all this? But then, Danny thought of a way to help him.

"Hey, dude, maybe…" Danny tried to say again.

But Tucker interrupted him again, having a hunch on what his best friend was about to say. "No! I think it's the only way! I've made up my mind, OK? I know you would be willing to let me tell her your secret if it would help matters, but I really don't think it would. There's just too much other stuff. But thanks, anyway." He smiled after saying that, but it definitely _wasn't_ a convincing one.

Danny and Sam could feel their own lumps swelling in their throats. They would never, ever wish that look on Tucker's face on him, especially with how low he definitely must be feeling right now.

Sam was particularly crushed by guilt at causing so much additional turmoil on her hurting friend. But she was too choked up to say anything.

Danny, of course, was also at a loss on what to do. Tucker had been right in suspecting that his friend would gladly let Tucker tell Valerie his secret—if that would make Tucker happy. But Danny also now knew that this is not what Tucker wanted.

Again, all three sat in a sad hush. Finally, Tucker rose and slowly said, "Well, I think I'll just get going. I'm totally beat, you know."

Danny and Sam were also so upset that they couldn't make themselves convince him to stay. They just nodded weakly as their friend quietly left the room. They looked at each other in silence after he left, but they didn't know what they could say to the other at the moment to help matters. Instead, they just sat holding each other, thinking about their best friend, and now feeling just as low as he.

In the meantime, Tucker was so glad that he had left when he did. He didn't want them to see the tears he now let flow freely as he walked among the cold nightly shadows.

* * *

Valerie looked all around her after reaching the Real World—thanks, but _no_ thanks—to Danny Phantom.

"Hmph!" she grumbled as she activated her GPS program to pinpoint her location. "That Ghost Punk probably just set me up back there to scare me into getting off his turf," she huffed again. She suddenly groaned, bitterly aware of the tender wound Razilo had given her as the cold air bit into it. She turned to look at it. She was relieved that at least it wasn't bleeding anymore. She grumbled under her breath, "And I'll never forgive him for doing it."

But underneath, she wondered just _why _he helped her—again. What about all those other times, too? What was _in it_ for him, anyway? She tried to grumble her thoughts away, but couldn't. All those times when he 'helped' her didn't make up for all the times when he didn't. It probably was just part of his 'little game' with her. After all, he couldn't 'play' with her if she got wasted, now could he? The jerk!

She narrowed her eyes and growled in indignation. She would beat him at his own game. She was no sucker!

Her GPS beeped and she looked down at the map to home. Then she glanced at her watch. Nearly one in the morning already? Her dad was going to kill her!! She pressed the accelerator of her hover board and soared toward her house—well, as fast as her damaged board would let her, that is.

All during the slow-going route to home, other thoughts couldn't help but escape from her.

She still saw their faces—Danny's, Sam's--and especially Tucker's--when they reacted to her 'surprise'. It confused her. She had expected them to be, well, surprised, but **not **shocked. She frowned, disappointed with herself. Well, how _else _would they have reacted? It wasn't every day that someone laid this type of a bomb on their friends. Still, she thought that they _were_ her friends, and that she could…trust them now, _especially_ Tucker. And she had thought that they could now trust her…e_specially_ Tucker.

Valerie saw her house just ahead. Her face fell with her descending hover board. She regretted the whole thing. How could she have been such an _idiot_? She tried to remain strong, but tears pushed forward in spite of it.

She entered her still open bedroom window and quickly deactivated her suit. She just as quickly—but also quietly—closed the window and crept toward her father's bedroom. She was surprised to see that his light was still on. She swallowed hard and knew she had to get this over with. She slowly opened the door and was about to call his name when her eyes widened. He was _asleep_?

The disheartened girl smiled weakly, a little happy that at least _he_ was able to trust her.

She slowly closed the door. But before it had fully closed, her father quietly said, "Good night, Honey. And happy birthday, anyways. "

"Thanks, Daddy. Good night, too. I love you."

"Same here," he answered as she finished closing the door; and he then turned out his light.

Walking down the hallway, more of Valerie's tears suddenly began to flow. Some birthday.

"Yeah," she morosely grumbled to herself. "Happy Birthday."


	26. Chapter 26 Lost in the Turmoil

**A/N: Well, here we are again! It's already Friday? Man, how time flew this week, but that's VERY good because that means my spring break is coming like a train down the tracks! Woo-hoo! But I better hold onto my horses, because it ain't here yet! And, oops, especially since this story has turned on the down side. Better put on my sad face—well, in a few more moments- and post Chapter 26 to try to keep me on track. Don't forget the IDNOAC thing… And, of course, ENJOY!**

TrueHeart-Chapter 26—Lost in the Turmoil

While Valerie and Danny, now in the Real World, were heading to their respective warm homes, Bertrand shivered in this strange place into which Tucker had suddenly thrust him. But before he was able to clear his head enough to figure out anything about it, he was suddenly surrounded by several Far Frozen soldiers.

Before he knew it, he was in front of their leader, Frostbite, and was now shivering in fright. He had never been to this part of the Ghost Zone and now that he could see what kind of creatures who inhabited it, he definitely wanted to get out of there as soon as possible…

"I am sorry. Would you please repeat what you just said? I did not understand," the large Ice Creature asked with confusion in his voice and on his face.

His teeth chattering, and still feeling intimidated by the yeti, Bertrand stuttered his answer. He should have been clearer in his explanation, but, of course, he was making everything up as he went along. "I-I didn't mean to invade your land, b-but it wasn't my fault. I-I'm n-not certain how I got here! O-One moment I was on my way to visit my poor old sweet grandmother, and then the next thing I knew, some evil ghost was shoving me into a portal and I ended up here! I-I am so frightened about it all!"

Frostbite didn't know that Bertrand had been truthful with only that last statement. But trying to calm his unintentional guest, the Ice Creature smiled encouragingly. "Oh, I see. Sometimes things like this happen, you know. Now, if you can just tell me which quadrant you live in and…"

"D-Delta," Bertrand hurriedly replied. He was still jittery—emotionally _and_ physically—about being here.

The Far Frozen leader lifted one of his huge eyebrows in surprise. "You _are _very far away indeed! But getting you back is no problem, so I hope you will feel better about this unfortunate situation. But I cannot let you know the means. And you must do exactly what I say. But all will be well, I assure you, and your dear grandmother will be seeing you sooner than you think."

Bertrand had no idea about to what Frostbite was referring, but hoping that it meant he could get home, he nodded in agreement. Before the shape-shifter knew what was happening, he was blindfolded; and he was clinging for dear after-life, his fingers digging deeply into the thick fur of the huge Ice Creature as they jolted upward and left the Far Frozen.

They had just reached the edge of the Delta Quadrant when Frostbite noticed a hideous-looking human ghost heading their way. He quickly stopped and hid the Infi-Map within himself before prying Bertrand off of him as if the human ghost were a tick.

Bertrand floated a moment before asking Frostbite, "Can I take off the blindfold now?"

As the ugly, old creature continued to approach them, Frostbite said dryly, "Only if you prepare yourself!"

Bertrand, of course, had no idea what the beast met, but he quickly pulled off the blindfold anyhow. He then gasped when he saw the ancient entity that was nearing them. But it was not a gasp of disgust. It was one of surprise and momentary confusion. But he quickly rebounded and just as the old creature was within earshot, he uttered rather loudly, "Grandmother!"

He quickly flew toward her.

Spectra halted in mid-flight, both in shock and in utter irritation at her assistant's remark. But before she could object, he turned back to Frostbite and called out to him, "Thank you, kind….beast….for bringing me safely back to my **grandmother.** I just knew she would be worried sick and would be looking for me! I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you!"

Frostbite smiled in satisfaction. He replied, "Think nothing of it! It has been a while since I have been able to get out and see how the rest of the Ghost Zone is doing. I really needed that. So, honestly, I should thank you for the favor. Still, I must go. I do not need that long of a trip!"

Before either Bertrand or Spectra could say anything more to the Ice Creature, Frostbite turned around and took flight toward the Far Frozen. He waited until he was well out of eye sight before he retrieved the Infi-Map and commanded it to take him home.

Just as the beast had left, Spectra shot a bolt of purple fury at Bertrand. Its aim was off because she was so upset; and so, he only got a small brunt of it. She hissed with her error and with the sudden recall that she wanted to get back at him for ordering her about earlier. She followed that last failed attempt with another, more angry one. This time, Bertrand yelled in pain.

Ignoring the green saliva that continue to ooze down her cragged chin, she smiled at her successful hit before saying through gritted, gnarled teeth, "And you deserved both of those jolts, especially after what your stupid aging potion did to me and after ordering me so rudely about at the Ghost Brat's school! And just what do you mean by calling me your _grandmother_ just because I look like one? I hate this! I feel my wrinkles crawling all over my face! It's just awful!"

Bertrand reeled from Spectra's second ectoplasmic ray just as the first, but the sting from both was inconsequential compared to her ire right now. He raised his hands up in surrender, and responding to her first comment, said, "Sorry, Penelope, but I had to come up with a quick excuse to keep myself from being eaten after-alive by that creature! And when I saw you in your current condition, you were the perfect excuse to collaborate my story. It was as if you planned all of that! Uh, did you?..."

She was not at all impressed with his explanation and ignored his question with a huff. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Instead, she focused back onto the subject of Bertrand's unusual escort. She growled, "You dolt! That Ice Beast wouldn't eat you! Still, he is dangerous. Don't you know who that was?"

"No."

"That's Frostbite, the leader of the Far Frozen. How did you ever get to his land?"

Bertrand quickly told everything that had happened to him since they had last seen the other.

"Oh, I see," she finally replied when he was finished.

"And how do you know him?" Bertrand asked.

"It's a long story, but he's not one we should mess with. Funny, though, how this time he seemed so…approachable. Anyhow, be happy that he brought you back here."

Bertrand thought it best not to question her anymore, and did thank his lucky stars. He then turned to the real matter at hand. How Penelope looked. "And, so, what happened to _you_?" he asked. "And what did you mean about my 'stupid aging potion'?"

She quickly filled him in and he inadvertently laughed. But seeing her immediately frown when he did and charge up her old, yet potent, energy beam, he added with a slight chuckle, "Oh, don't worry, Penelope! I have what you need! Obviously, you didn't 'need' the aging potion. But I guess you didn't know that I use that to help my ghost plants grow faster so I can use them whenever it's convenient for me."

"Well, it wasn't at all 'convenient' **for me**," she hissed back, not at all calmed by his reason for having that hideous brew. "It should be pushed way away from all those other creepy concoctions of yours."

"Of course, I won't do that," Bertrand replied more nonchalantly than Spectra wanted to hear. "They are put in alphabetical order and the aging potion is, of course, first."

"It should be put under "X" for 'condemned'," she sneered back, tiring of this conversation, especially since it wasn't going her way. But before she could say anymore, she startled a little when he didn't frown at her insults.

Instead, Bertrand had smiled in self-satisfaction. He knew what would instantly calm her. He pulled out the little machine with her first dose of "Tucker-supplied" pheromones that he had gathered from the human boy when he was in the forest. The only vial that he had salvaged, that is. He was about to activate the 'delivery' button on the machine when she totally surprised him.

"Giveme!" she frantically insisted as she yanked the vial violently out from its receptacle.

"Wait, Penelope! It needs to be in aerosol!" he objected.

But he was too late.

In her desperation to remedy her dilemma, she hadn't listened to him. She quickly breathed in the purple concentration just as it rapidly eked out of the vial and started coughing on it after she did. A few wrinkles disappeared, but most of her face remained unchanged.

She screamed when she still felt her sagging skin. "What happened? Why didn't you stop me?"

This time, Bertrand grew angry and protested, "You didn't _let_ me stop you! The concentrated pheromones need to be delivered in aerosol—unless they're your own. If you'd had just listened, you would have fully recovered! You wasted it all for nothing!"

Of course she knew he was right, but she would not let him show her up. Her reply was both casual and with a hint of threat in it. "Then, my dear Bertrand, you'll just have to get more, huh?"

He growled in irritation at her callous remark, but said nothing. Instead, he turned violently away from her, more in anger this time than he had thought he had been, and quickly took off to retrieve some more pheromones. He knew just where he could find them. But…he needed to stop momentarily at his lair before he headed to his designation.

* * *

Later that night, Tucker couldn't sleep at all; the thoughts of Valerie's birthday party would not go away. The harder he tried to squish his decision to break-up with Valerie out of his mind, the more it would just press upon him. His head now ached and he rolled over for the thousandth time. But it didn't help get rid of that or the ache in his heart and mind. The thought still haunted him: breaking up was the only way. The best way. After all, whom was he fooling? There was no hope between them after all. There never really had been, since they had been lying to each other all along. Maybe it was better that he end it before his feeling for her got way too deep. That way, he could save both of them from too much pain.

The reason why he knew he just had to do it pushed forward in his mind again. And then he was suddenly aware of a throbbing pain right in the middle of his forehead. How he wished he could just pluck that anguish-filled thought right out and discard all this misery. But the thought wouldn't let go of him. Valerie would never accept Danny Phantom and he could never tell her Danny's secret because of that. Simple as that.

He shivered at his next thought. It _wasn't_ that simple. She was filled with too much hatred. It was as if she had taken all her pent-up frustrations—everything she had ever loathed—and thrust them upon his best friend, madly driving them into him and making them come to life with every one of his breaths. And it was only then, when she had destroyed him, would she be able to be calm and maybe truly love again.

Tucker groaned. He could just see Valerie as the Red Huntress, tormenting his best friend when she finally got him in her control. He could see the wicked grin on her face, relishing in his best friend's suffering until she could finally deliver the last cruel blow.

Why did she really feel she had to do this? Would it be that, maybe then, she would be normal again and not be driven to hunt ghosts? Or did she now enjoy hunting _too much_?

His eyes bolted open at the thought. Up to this point, he hadn't minded that she was a ghost hunter. After all, so was _he_! But now, he saw it all. He hunted ghosts to help Danny, to help others, so that Amity Park would be safe. But Valerie. Valerie hunted ghosts because of a personal vendetta. She was a vigilante driven by hatred just for the sake of it. And that was just plain _wrong_.

He sat up in his bed and didn't even bother to turn on his light. He suddenly remembered when Danny had told him about the time when Valerie had actually captured his hybrid friend. She had tried to make him give her the map of the Ghost Zone and the location of all the portals. But, come to think of it, Danny had never told him the _details_ on how she had tried to 'make' him tell her. But now, he could imagine it. She had to have 'persuaded' him….with torture.

He cringed and tried to throw that thought totally out. But he couldn't. And then, he grumbled, suddenly quite irritated with himself. All he was doing was lying here, beating himself up, and for what? Still, he could not deny it. Not matter what he did, all of these intense feelings that his thoughts had successfully thrust upon him still bitterly pounded his heart. But that just made him more determined to get rid of them all—pronto! He violently pulled himself out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

When he got there, he retrieved a cup and opened the refrigerator. He poured out some water and sat down. After taking a sip, he slammed the cup down harder on the table than he thought he had. Coming down here hadn't helped a bit! No matter how he felt about Valerie—_had_ felt about her—didn't mean anything anymore. How could he even like someone—much less, care for her—when that someone would do that kind of thing—that torture—to anyone, much less his best friend?

After all, underneath, Danny had never _ever_ really enjoyed hurting the ghosts that attacked them. He attacked in defense, not with hatred and pure aggression. It was necessary when he had to stop the ghosts.

But with Valerie, it was different.

He put his throbbing head down on the table, cradling it in his crossed arms. But why did it _have_ to be different with her? He stayed motionless, except for the knot in his stomach, and the quiver he suddenly felt tightening in his throat.

He was totally unaware that his mother had heard someone in the kitchen and had come down to investigate. But she didn't come in right away. She knew he had been upset before the party. But obviously he was even more upset. But she was uncertain whether she should intervene, and thought it best for her to remain in the shadows and out of his sight for now.

After a few more moments of indecision on his mother's part, Tucker helped her make-up her mind. He sighed and got up. He emptied the rest of the water from the cup into the sink, rinsed it out, and placed it in the drain board. He then turned and headed back up to his room. But he didn't meet anyone on the way up. His mother had quickly retreated to her room once Tucker had stood up to empty his glass.

Once he got into his room, the troubled boy plopped on his bed, spread eagle and face up. He stared upward, hoping he could find his answer to his turmoil and just wrestle it from the seemingly infinite realms of darkness in which he now felt enclosed. But he couldn't find the answer, except that it _had to be over_ between Valerie and him.

And suddenly, he felt his strength completely drained and he surrendered to it. He knew he was just melding right into the dark misery that must have snuffed out all the light in his world right now, including his consciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile, not unlike Tucker, Valerie tossed and turned, unable to get the scene during her birthday party 'surprise' out of her mind. All she could see was Tucker's shocked eyes; all she could feel was his distress, and its pain penetrated straight to her heart. She just knew he was still upset because he didn't call her for the rest of the night. And Tucker hadn't picked up on his phone, either, when she had tried to call _him._

Of course, there was a chance that he might have tried to call her when she was out fighting that Phantom jerk and that other slime ball of a ghost that had shoved her into the Ghost Zone. Or so she thought, since she did not know that it was Tucker who had created a portal to save her from Bertrand.

With each passing restless moment, she kicked herself for telling him her secret, or more importantly, for _not_ telling him the moment they started dating. And what were Sam and Danny thinking of her now that she had upset them _and their_ best friend? She scrunched her closed eyes even harder with that thought.

Then, her stream of thought changed radically. Darn it! None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for that punk Danny Phantom! _He_ was the reason who had thrust her into hunting ghosts, after all. But then, she jolted at her next thought. And if it hadn't been for _Danny Phantom_, she would never have gotten interested in Tucker…

It started almost a year ago. Just before the Spring Dance. She had been reading her family history book that had been carefully compiled by her grandmother and had run into Tucker—literally. She had lost her grip on the book, and he his PDA, but Tucker had rescued her book, and she had caught his PDA; and both of them had kept their treasured items from any damage. And that's when she discovered how Tucker liked family history as well. And it went from there. He showed her some of the neat programs that he somehow had on his PDA, programs that seemed so advanced. She didn't understand how he had those programs; but she didn't care, especially when she realized she could use some of them to expand her Red Huntress arsenal—and upgrade her helmet and suit.

But something happened. During all that time she had spent trying to use his programs to fight ghosts, she began to look past them—and to their owner. And she liked what she saw….

So, if it hadn't been for the Phantom jerk, she wouldn't have been able to get to know Tucker. She suddenly huffed. She wasn't going to give the blasted ghost any credit! So, that _didn't _count! She would _still_ get him back for all the misery he had caused her once and for all!

However, that thought didn't mollify her enough to let her sleep. Instead, her thoughts about Tucker replaced her 'waste-of-time' thoughts about that infernal Ghost Kid. She was still not sure on what to do. She groaned and pulled herself up on the side of the bed. She turned on her light and then fell back onto her back, staring upward at her ceiling right afterward.

She felt she should apologize. But what good would that do? The deed was already done. Maybe she should try to explain everything to him? But what was the point? After all, she had already presented herself as the Red Huntress at the party. And he hadn't exactly wrapped his arms around her, happy with the news. Quite the opposite, actually. She had run him off…

As she laid wrestling with herself, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She resisted the urge to give into it, but then the feeling changed. She was no longer nauseated. She was totally drained. As if something _physical_ was sucking away her strength. But her tortured mind inadvertently succumbed to its grief and she fell into a stupor, still remaining unaware that something _else_ had sped up that process for her.

* * *

Having gotten what he needed from his lair, the shape-shifter turned on the machine and typed Tucker's name out on it. He frowned in confusion. It no longer showed a strong reading of misery coming from him. That boy couldn't have gotten over his misery yet from how nearly and fully pure his first sample had been! Getting over lost relationships thankfully took lots of time for most humans, if they had had any real emotional attachment to them at all to begin with. He rechecked his readings. That could only mean one thing. The boy must have been asleep. Not that his misery had changed, it's just that while sleeping, any production of the desired pheromones would be unpredictable.

Bertrand frowned.

But then, another gauge alerted him. He punched a few buttons and confirmed that set of data. He was getting an even stronger signal…from Valerie! He pushed the 'home in' button and followed the Geiger-counter like clicking, searching through the cold night for the girl.

He finally found where she was, and was both surprised and delighted to see a light on in the room where the machine told him she should be. He turned off the 'homing device' and drifted the rest of the way in silence.

He peeked in and saw that the girl was awake, staring at nothing on her ceiling. Perfect! He pushed the 'collect' button and before Bertrand could even look back at the girl, it was full! He chuckled at his perfect prize! Then carefully and quickly, he sealed that deep purple-filled vial and put in another one. Then another one. Finally, he had just filled the last vial he had retrieved from his lair before leaving for the Real World, when he noticed the girl's eyes close. He had weakened her enough with that last extraction. But, at least it would be enough for Penelope—and even enough left over for him. He was getting long overdue for his next fix.

After giving himself his first dose of the chilling—but invigorating—mist, he turned off the machine and headed back to the Ghost Zone.


	27. Chapter 27 Contradictory Events

**A/N: Now, it's that time again! And time to see what's happening with Sarah and Derek!** **And without further ado, IDNOAC and here is Chapter 27. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 27—Contradictory Events

Sarah froze in the midst of her efforts to pry a larger hole in her cage. She heard the creaking of an opening door!

"Hurry, Sarah, we must feign being unconscious!" her husband desperately whispered.

The two animals immediately shot downward, hugging the floor of their respective cages as soon as Derek had said that. They closed their eyes and tried to control their quivering, fearful that their captors had indeed returned; and, more dreadfully, would discover what they were doing.

And they had every right to be afraid, for it _was_ Spectra! She was just arriving from her rendezvous with Bertrand and the fiasco _he_ had made of administering the rejuvenating dose to her. She stomped in, not paying particular heed to whom or what she might disturb in her path. Why hadn't Bertrand warned her about the concentrated pheromone concoction's needing to be in aerosol before letting her waste it all?

But, of course, she had not remembered that her very first dose when Bertrand had first shown her the machine was given in aerosol.

She grumbled at the thought, but then she gritted her teeth. It didn't matter! Now, she could possibly be stuck in her 'aged state' indefinitely! The thought made her ill and she wanted to lie down.

But as she past through the room containing her unwitting 'guests', she glanced toward them inside their cages. "This is _still_ all their fault!" she angrily mumbled under her breath, seeing in the darkened room that they were still out for the count. She didn't know that they were faking their condition, and that they had heard her. And she was so upset that she didn't notice that the bird cage's bars were awry. Not that she would. The bars that had been weakened were very close to the bottom of the cage, and were not in the shadow ghost's line of vision. Spectra continued onward to her room and lay down.

In the meantime, the animal couple waited several minutes before getting back up. Sarah went right to work again. She knew that her task would now take even longer since she had to work slower and more quietly. As she toiled, every once in a while she would freeze whenever she heard a creak or other odd noise. Sometimes, her husband would hiss in warning if he had heard something first. Still, through the painfully slow work, she prayed that they would not be found out before she could finish.

But it looked like that that was not meant to be right now.

They heard Spectra's door suddenly swing violently open not thirty minutes later, and she charged out, having been unable to get the rest she needed. She was in a very foul mood to say the least.

Sarah instinctually pushed some of her bedding through the hole to make it look natural. But just as she finished—yet before either of the ghost animals could react and feign being unconscious again—the shadow ghost saw them and narrowed her baggy eyes in anger. She growled evilly under her acid breath, "Looks like I was much nicer than you both deserved the last time I vented my frustration! Don't you think for _one_ moment that you're out of this! I expect compensation from both of you for your incompetence! And you can begin with this!" She ended that statement with another purple ectoplasmic blow to both of the poor defenseless creatures.

Sarah and Derek again screamed in excruciating pain from her heartless attack and fell senseless once more. The only 'good' thing that resulted from this assault was that Spectra was too upset to see the small hole in Sarah's cage.

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In the meantime, after obtaining the desirable pheromone sample from Valerie, Bertrand had decided not to go back right away to Spectra's lair. He was still not only upset with her, but he was also now exhausted after all he had gone through at the Far Frozen. And he hadn't even been able to rest before he had to go out and get these precious samples. He quietly grumbled with his irritation, silently daring Spectra to make him change his mind. He headed to his own lair with his decision. And Spectra could wait, and wait until morning.

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Finally, Saturday lazily rose and before long, it was just about mid-morning. The sun was shining, its rays reflecting off small mirror-like patches of the ice that littered the cold streets; and all was tranquil until Tucker's cell phone rang…

Tucker groaned in response, groping blindly for the little phone as it happily sung its little tune. After getting it and barely answering the person on the other end, he broke the connection and then turned it off. He groaned again, turning to his other side before pressing his pillow over his head as he attempted once more to snuff the world out.

But after only a few minutes, Tucker decided that it was no use trying to sleep anymore and dragged himself out of bed. But he was definitely not awake, either, and certainly not in the best of moods. He headed downstairs; and even though he could feel the bacon in the air, today, he really didn't care. He wasn't at all hungry.

When he got downstairs, he wondered why he even got out of bed. He turned back around and headed upstairs again. But when he got to his room, he didn't feel like lying back down. Grumbling, he headed back downstairs.

But just as he was at the bottom of his stairs, he stopped. He also didn't want to talk to anyone, or even try to pretend that he wanted to talk to anyone. He turned right around and went back up again. When he got to his room, however, he was determined to stay put for a while. He sloppily plopped on top of his bed and stared baggy-eyed at the blank ceiling. He had no doubt that this day would be just as empty.

* * *

The alarm clock screamed at Valerie and she slammed it off and immediately pulled the covers back over her. Didn't that stupid machine know she hadn't slept during most of the night? But then, her hazy mind remembered why her alarm clock had been so rude. She had to work—her regular work, that is—at the Nasty Burger today.

She groaned and pulled the covers off her face. She opened her eyes and moaned with how blurry her vision now was. Her eyes felt so heavy and unfocused, it was as if her eyes had fallen right into the bags she knew were under them. She slowly got herself out of bed but her vision hadn't improved much when she did. She sighed, now dreading to go to work. She hoped that she would be able to tell the difference between their fish filet and hamburger, since they had always looked the same to her when she was _awake_.

She immediately showered and got dressed. After peaking into her father's room and seeing that he was still asleep, she headed downstairs. She made a quick breakfast, and then headed to work. But she still felt so weak—and depressed. Even the crisp cold air and the newly fallen snow didn't help make her feel any more alert—or better. She just knew by how awful she felt both physically and mentally that today was doomed.

* * *

Danny and Sam were also up, but had their own plans today. They had invited Tucker to come along with them a while ago way before everything that had happened since the party. But when Danny had called him this morning, Tucker had sounded awful. Even though Tucker hadn't told his friend about his very restless night, Danny could tell that it had not been a good one. So, Tucker had told Danny he would rather not go with them. Danny had understood, but was still worried about his friend.

Once Danny had gotten a hold of Sam and told her about Tucker, she, too, grew worried. At first, since they were now concerned about Tucker, they couldn't decide whether to go after all. But then, they both finally agreed that going through their original plans would help take their mind off of things. So, they decided to meet with each other just the same.

As they walked gloved-hand-in-gloved-hand along the snowy sidewalk toward their destination, Sam finally turned to her boyfriend. Yawning a little and then seeing her breath when she did, she grumbled, "Did we have to get up _this _early?"

He smirked and wryly said, "Well, ten-thirty _is_ a little early, I know, but we also agreed that we needed plenty of time to try to find that original underground park that's supposed to be under Central Park. I thought you were excited to go look for it after you told me about it when you were researching parks for that lame project at school."

"Yeah, I was, but that's because it was after one in the afternoon when I read about it—when I was awake and when it—and I—made some sense!" she quipped back.

He chuckled before replying, "Well, if you rather, we can just chill and come back later."

"Looks like 'chilling' is covered nicely right now," she smirked as she momentarily let go of his hand and rubbed her gloved hands to get warm. "And the way I feel right now, 'coming back later' will mean coming back in the spring—late spring!"

"But if you rather not," he again suggested, chuckling slightly.

"No, let's go ahead with it. We both thought it would be good to keep things off of our minds right now, and I do need to finish the stupid research. Besides, I'm already up and can't get any more frozen."

He chuckled again. "OK, Sam!" He then wrapped his arm around her and they continued to walk towards the park.

As soon as they got there, Danny looked for a place to morph. A large nearby snowbank volunteered for the job and he quickly went behind it and changed into his alter ego. Turning invisible and intangible right away, he phased to the other side of the snowbank where Sam was still waiting.

"Ready?" he whispered to her ear.

She squelched her pleased smile, and raising her hand up to nothing, wryly replied, "As always."

In the next instant, she, too had vanished and become intangible when he had touched her hand. Then, without any hesitation, he wrapped his other arm around her waist.

The chill she got from his touch wasn't like the cold, unpleasant day at all. It had lasted only a moment, however, before they were phasing right through the ground in search of the elusive old underground park.

As they slowly descended, it actually seemed to be getting warmer to Sam. And it wasn't just because of the warmth from Danny's ectoplasmic energy orb or his arm. It was much simpler than that. The layers of rock and dirt acted as insulators in and of themselves, keeping the subterranean nearly the same temperature year round.

The couple scanned the surrounding open pockets for any hints of a forgotten park that might pop out, but all they found was dirt and rock intermixed with occasional cobblestones, or crushed piles of concrete-like material.

After a few minutes of searching, they realized that their research had definitely come up very short of their expectations. Not needing any cue, Danny then quickened their descent until they came upon a small cavern. When they reached it, they rematerialized.

"Sorry, Sam, looks like it was all a bust," Danny sympathetically said. "I could go get a couple of samples of stuff that did look obviously man-made if you want."

"Thanks, Danny. That would be a great idea. Then, I could do research on the kind of materials they had used. That at least should make Lancer happy."

"So you think you got him figured out, huh? Hope it's not contagious!" he chuckled before saying, "Just give me a sec, OK?"

He bolted upward while she watched him phase out of sight—with the light.

"Duh! Didn't think of that, did you?" she grumbled to herself as she suddenly felt the pressure of the total darkness.

Usually the dark never bothered her. But for some reason, now that her surroundings totally abounded with it, she suddenly felt uneasy—and alone. She frowned at herself for being so silly. Danny would be back before she knew it. And, besides, she liked to be alone. Still, when she knew she wouldn't be able to see her own hand in front of her face even if she tried, she couldn't help but feel…empty. It was a very unnerving feeling, especially now, when she was suddenly aware that the minutes were ticking by at a snail's pace. Where was Danny?

She was tempted to move, but couldn't make herself for some disturbing reason. Again, in some ways, she suddenly felt as if she were frozen here, as if she were lost in a black, hopeless sea of….utter abandonment. She shivered a little. But then, she suddenly grew very irritated with herself for letting her imagination run wild like that. She had never felt this way before! Nothing was wrong! Still, she also had to admit that she would not want to feel that kind of wildness ever again.

She was still in the mist of mentally admonishing herself when a bright green light suddenly illuminated the area.

"Sam, are you all right?" Danny said as he quickly placed the collected items on the floor and flew over to her, having noticed her somewhat ashen face.

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?" she said with a weak smile. "I'm just glad you're back, that's all!" she added, before reaching out for him.

He didn't hesitate to oblige her and they fully embraced.

Sam let go a little and then reached again for him and gave him a warm kiss.

She was very glad he was back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bertrand was in his laboratory when he heard the loud banging on his door of his lair. He knew from the sound of it exactly _who_ belonged to that banging.

"Come in, Penelope," he called as he quickly turned toward the lab's door, grabbing something off the counter as he did.

She immediately barged in, grumbling under her breath as she headed to where she knew he would be. He had better have a _great_ explanation as to why he hadn't returned to her lair. How dare he expect her to actually look for him in the condition she was in!

He ran up to the entrance to his lab and stopped in anticipation. As soon as Spectra came over the threshold, however, Bertrand surprised her with spraying a large dose of the pheromone mist over her before whipping out a mirror.

Spectra's scowl instantly melded into a beautiful smirk as her wrinkles—and anger—slid right off her face.

"Beautiful as ever," he purred to her as she looked into the mirror. "I'd say this was pretty quality stuff I was able to obtain." He pointed to two small bottles which held more of the deep plum concoction.

Spectra resisted the urge to compliment him. Instead, she said with slight irritation, "As only it _should_ after all that suffering you put me through! I hardly had any sleep!" But then she let a smile escape her as she admired herself. "But this 'great explanation' more than made up for it!"

Bertrand smiled and said, "And there'll be more to come, I promise! I was able to get you a few days worth of pheromones for now, but I just know the heftier doses are in the works. But I have to get more containers." He suddenly frowned a little in worry. "And I have to make up more of the masking formula. I was just about to go get some more of the plant and some containers when you arrived. And I sure hope we get this all over with soon, Penelope. I hadn't planned to go back to Pandora's maze for those plants. But since we used up the last batch, I'll have to."

"Well, then, what are you waiting for? I don't want any juicy samples getting dried up because you weren't there to collect them!" she flippantly replied, still looking at herself in the mirror. She was obviously not at all concerned about his worry over facing the Minotaur again.

"Right away, Penelope," he said with a sigh before floating closer to her. But he added with a flicker of anticipation, "And I hope you were pleased with this dose?" He closed the gap between them, offering her a warm smile as he did.

This time, she looked up at his remark. But when she saw his face, she didn't like it. Irritated, she waved him away and he frowned.

With a slight huff, he quickly left his lair and headed to get more of the bottles needed to hold more of their future precious commodities.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the weekend was an exhausted blur for Tucker and Valerie. They hadn't gotten any more rest—in mind, heart or body. Then, finally, it was Monday…and school.

Danny and Sam walked toward to their usual meeting point with Tucker, only to find…_n_o Tucker waiting for them like he usually would be. But then, they saw Valerie slowly approaching them from the other side, looking every bit the wreck.

"What happened to her? Got run over by a truck?" Sam said under her breath to her boyfriend.

Danny frowned a little with concern, and remembering Friday night, replied under his breath as well, "Yeah, I'd say from the way we treated her on Friday, she got run over by _our_ truck."

"OK, I get it," Sam responded in a slightly irritated hush. "But let's just get this over with, then!"

"Yeah, but make it _look_ good, OK, Sam?"

"Just for you," she replied as dryly as the desert at mid-day. But she put on as much of a smile as she could muster, but it still didn't look sincere.

Danny's smile wasn't any better, but it looked more embarrassed than anything else.

But way before they were within earshot of Valerie, Danny's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Danny?" the very depressed-sounding voice said over the phone.

"Tucker? Is that you?" Danny asked, suddenly getting worried when he hadn't recognized his friend's voice at first. In fact, his concern for how obviously low his friend sounded was so great that Danny had also unconsciously stopped walking.

Sam immediately stopped as well and looked silently on, creasing her brow in concern.

"Are you alright?" Danny continued with more apprehension in his voice. But realizing his lame words, he cringed, and sheepishly added, "Oh, yeah, Sorry! Standard question!" But then, the half-ghost suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen his upset friend all weekend—but not because _he_ had wanted it that way, of course! So, in reality, Danny didn't _really_ know how Tucker was doing. Now, the blue-eyed teen could not help but be worried-a lot.

But either Tucker didn't hear him or didn't want to answer his friend as he replied, "I don't really want to talk about it right now. But could you tell Valerie I'll see her later at school? I'm not ready yet and I haven't been able to talk to her yet."

"But we all can wait for you, and…"

"NO!" Tucker abruptly yelled into Danny's ear.

Danny jumped at the barrage, and instinctively pulled the phone away.

"I really can't talk to her now, either! I'll be out in a minute. Just tell her to go," came the tense command.

"OK! Whatever, dude. See you in a minute," Danny replied, now more troubled, and irritated.

He hung up his phone. Just as he looked to Sam, he shrugged and shook his head in worry to Sam, but didn't say anything for now. Instead, he resumed his walk toward Valerie.

Sam, of course, knew that something was not right, but she kept quiet as she started right after him.

Sam easily caught up with her boyfriend. When the couple was close enough to Valerie, Danny slowed down and stammered, "U-Uhm, hey, Valerie. Tucker said he's running late and he'll meet up with us at school, OK? And, uhm, I forgot something at home, and so, see you there later, too?"

Valerie barely uttered an "OK", but she didn't question him and turned quickly around and headed to school.

Right after Valerie turned around, Danny immediately stopped, watched after Valerie for a few moments, and then resumed his walk towards the three friends' usual meeting place.

This time, Sam said, "Hey, what gives?"

"Looks like Tucker wasn't able to talk to Valerie all weekend and didn't want to do it now."

"Oh," the girl replied, scrunching her face a little with apprehension.

Finally, Tucker came out, well, really, more like crawled out. He was very disheveled, and looked beat.

"Tucker!" Sam accidentally blurted out in disbelief. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand to gag herself from saying any more that would make him feel worse than he already looked.

But Tucker hadn't noticed her outburst, and mumbled, "Thanks, Danny, for, you know. And thanks for waiting for me, guys."

His two best friends just nodded in acknowledgement. But, all of the sudden, all three were uncomfortable and upset again. Though they were now just with themselves, just like old times, they walked the rest of the way to school miserable, and in silence.


	28. Chapter 28 The Blow

**A/N: Yes, it's time for an update! But, gee, things are sliding downhill pretty fast for our friends, as you'll soon see. Seems to me that Spectra and Bertrand finally have the upper hand here—well, almost! But, anyhow, in spite of it all, IDNOAC and here is The Blow, aptly named Chapter 28. Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 28—The Blow

Unlike Sam, Tucker, and Danny's weekend, Bertrand's had been very productive. In fact, it had been so busy, it had taken him practically the whole two days of it to run all the errands he had wanted to do. But, at least, he had finally been able to get more of the ghost plants he needed for his masking formula—barely. Even if doing so had not been as easy as he had at first believed….

He had found and had been able to get to the flowers that grew near Pandora's Maze more easily than he had thought. No one was remotely nearby! Believing that he had succeeded in his endeavor, his cockiness quickly swelled. Right after that, he had smugly, even brazenly, begun to openly pick the flowers.

But suddenly, he saw the Minotaur leading a small crowd in the corner of his eye. He instinctively dove into the flowers, while just as quickly chiding himself when he had almost been caught. He had to hide in the flower bushes themselves for quite a while before he could sneak out, cursing all the while as the flower's thick, long thorns bit at him.

How was he to have known that there would be a ceremonial parade for the changing of the guards for Pandora's Maze just as he was ready to leave? In any case, he had been glad when he was finally able to get out of there; and hoped he wouldn't have to come back for a very, very long time—or, even better, never again.

Much to Bertrand's dismay, however, his hectic weekend did not end there. He then also had to get new receptacles. Spectra had destroyed quite a few in her maniacal frenzy when she had been looking for more of the deep purple pheromones. It had taken the shape-shifter quite a while to gather more bottles and vials, as well as getting the special pouches to put all those vials in so he could transport them safely to the lair. Then, once he had returned with the flowers and the receptacles, the process of making the masking perfume took even more time than his previous tasks.

But, now, it was Monday, and he was finally through and ready. As the new day started, he smiled. Fully prepared, especially with a hefty dose of the masking spray, he knew where the harvest of more of the pheromones would be…

He wasted no time and headed toward the Real World…and Amity Park. As he neared the area where Amity Park should be, he suddenly had an idea. It was perfect! Not only would he gather up as much of the 'ready to be picked' pheromones from the geek and his girl, but he would also continue to spread more seeds of destruction for the Ghost Boy and his. He smirked, quite satisfied with himself at the thought and increased his speed, anxious to carry out all his plans.

He searched the horizon as he flew on, and finally saw a small portal opening up. He quickly charged at it; and as he entered it, he checked the straps that hung on his shoulder, at the bottom of which dangled several of those new special pouches he had also gotten just for this occasion. He ignored the slight clinking of the empty, hungry vials within the pouches as he soared onward.

The shape-shifter smiled when he saw that the portal had taken him closer to the school than he had hoped. Unable to squelch his glee, he chuckled to himself, "No need to worry about much except to gather up as much of Penelope's and my goodies as possible!"

He quickly turned invisible and intangible and headed right to the school. He spied a very troubled-looking Valerie hanging around a locker and anxiously waiting for Tucker. But her boyfriend didn't come, and when she heard the bell that indicated that her—and Tucker's—first period class was looming, she sighed and gave up looking for him. She slowly went to class.

Bertrand wanted to get right on it; but before he did, he suddenly thought otherwise. He decided that he should scope out the area, checking for the other brat that would unwittingly fill his vials…

Tucker, meanwhile, had purposely avoided his locker, as that would mean he could avoid Valerie. He didn't care if he wasn't prepared for class. He was _more_ unprepared to meet Valerie. He was the first to arrive in his class and sat down in a daze. Suddenly, he felt more dizzy and sick—again. But he couldn't have known that Bertrand was _very_ nearby, having already found and monitored him.

Satisfied that the readings were ripe, Bertrand decided to start with this victim first after all. His little machine went right to doing its little job on the boy. Bertrand held the little machine steady. But when it suddenly let out its dinging sound of completion, the shape-shifter hastily glanced down at the machine and growled. He frowned with irritation at the thought: he needed to remind himself—again—to get rid of that annoying bell when he returned to his lab.

Luckily, he reacted instantly and successfully cupped the bell before it could be heard by anyone. From then on, he continued to keep it mute as the first container rapidly filled. But when he checked the color of Tucker's pheromone sample, he frowned a little in disappointment. It was still not potent enough to bottle indefinitely, but it was dark enough to bottle for a little while. However, that was not enough to satisfy the shape-shifter.

"Should have gone after the girl first," he grumbled, before calming himself at his next sudden idea. "Oh, well, we'll just have to wait until the machine sucks the kid dry and maybe I'll be able to get to the real good stuff!"

He continued to siphon samples off of Tucker, filling several of the vials that he had pulled out of the pouch that hung at his side. He carefully put each vial back into one of the suspended pouches. He wanted to make certain this time that any pheromones that could be bottled would make it back to his lair safe and sound.

He looked at the samples again. They _were_ getting purer. Still, they weren't perfect, and he didn't want to waste his time if all he was going to get was the sub-quality stuff. Then again, he couldn't just give them back, and let them be reabsorbed by the boy. Besides, he could still get some quick perks from this whole attempt.

He nodded to himself with his next thought. As soon as all of the vials were filled, he quickly phased out the nearby wall to the outside of the school. Instead of dosing himself with the aerosol version of the contents, he quickly inhaled them. When he felt the slight rush from the weakened dose, he still smiled.

The vials now empty, Bertrand quickly phased back into the building to recharge them. He smirked, thinking how trying to emotionally bleed the boy all this while really had its upside. Still, he knew that if he finally did get some of the good stuff, he should save some of it for later. After all, he didn't want to overdo the thrill of this bonus.

And in a way, Bertrand had been right about getting to the 'good' stuff. Tucker did feel more depressed and miserable as each vial filled. And as the boy's mental state deteriorated, the quality of his pheromones had purified.

Bertrand stopped momentarily when all the other students finally filtered into the class. But Tucker hadn't noticed the change, and he especially hadn't noticed Valerie. In fact, he hadn't even noticed what was happening during the lesson for the entire period; and Valerie grew more concerned with how so much worse Tucker was looking as the minutes ticked by.

Finally, the bell rang and Valerie headed right to Tucker. He was feeling so badly that he hadn't seen her at first. But he jumped when she softly said, "Hey, Tucker, are you OK?"

The boy didn't know what to say at first, torn between feeling like dirt and feeling like a heel when he would finally tell her that their relationship was over. But 'feeling like dirt' won out; and he turned from her without a word and headed to his locker.

Valerie stood with her mouth open in disbelief. She grew even more nervous. He hadn't even looked at her! She swallowed hard. His unusual behavior just _had _to be caused by what she did at her birthday party. She regretted doing that even more now. But she was determined to make it up to him. She turned and went right after him.

Bertrand, meanwhile, watched in delight after the scene below him unfolded. He quickly followed the both of them, eager for the chance to get more juicy prizes from them.

Valerie saw her boyfriend at his locker just ahead. She hurried over to him, and when she got there, she chuckled with embarrassment, "Hey, Tucker, you know, I had a great time with you Friday, even, if, you know—"

"Yeah, I know, and forget about it," he grumbled, firmly interrupting her, but still looking at his locker instead of her.

He growled in sudden anger as he struggled to open his locker. As usual, it was stuck. That frustration, along with his last comment, gave him the charge he needed. He stopped fighting with his locker for a moment. Lifting his head, but unable to force himself to turn toward or even look at her, he glared at his locker and said more firmly, "In fact, forget about **everything**! It isn't going to work out, you know—you and me, I mean! It would have never worked out, and I was a fool to even think that it could! Our schedules are _way_ too crazy, our way of looking at things is too crazy. _Everything's_ too crazy!"

He then yanked on his locker door with such force, it rattled violently on its hinges for several moments. He reached in without saying another word.

Valerie stood stunned, not realizing that her mouth had gaped open again in shock over his words. She stammered, "Y-You d-don't m-mean t-that! You're just upset and—"

He forcefully interrupted her again, "You're right! I am upset! Upset that I didn't see all of this coming, and admit all of it before! I was such an idiot to have hoped otherwise! So, if you don't mind, I think it's best for the both of us if we break it all off before we're way over our heads!"

Tucker slammed his locker door hard, as if to punctuate his words. It rebounded so intensely from his assault that it shook the adjourning doors as well as its own. He abruptly turned away from Valerie and left for his next class without saying another word.

Valerie stood stun at first. She couldn't believe what she had just heard and how Tucker had acted. This couldn't be happening! There had to be some kind of mistake. How could that dumb, stupid thing she had done at the party upset her boyfriend this much? But when she finally was able to respond, Tucker was way out of eye and earshot. Now what was she going to do? Suddenly, something swelled within her that she had never felt before. And she could feel her heart flutter with it. It was an odd panic. Tucker had been _very_ serious. He had meant _every _word of it! But why? WHY?

But then, an even more powerful feeing overwhelmed her when she couldn't even fathom an answer. NO! It wasn't true…it hadn't happened! This wasn't right! How could he even think she wanted to break up when…when she had this burning, deep feeling about him…Hadn't he known? Didn't he feel it, too? Then, what had made Tucker act this way? How could it be that bad?

Her confused, wounded heart, of course, didn't have an answer to that. But that's what distressed her the most right now. How could she, the Red Huntress, feel this unsure, this lost? But, not having an answer to that once more suddenly overwhelmed her. And the way she felt, she was sure that the floor had just dropped out from underneath her. And before she knew it, a sudden wave of tears seized her and she darted quickly to the girls' bathroom, hearing her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she ran.

"_Nice!"_ Bertrand thought as he floated after her, turning on the machine as he did. What he would harvest from the girl at this point would definitely be excellent samples. He went right to work.

After he had filled his vials to their capacity, he chuckled quietly to himself as he looked them over. They were a deep purple. Perfect for storing. "_Nice 'T-bone', yes, but not the 'prime cut''. It's time to work on the filet mignon!" _

He quickly shoved the vials into more of the small pouches he had brought with him and headed to another part of the school.

He had all the pheromones he could possibly hold right now and they were perfect samples. But now, he had that other promise to fulfill for himself, and he had the rest of the delicious day to do that. Reverting back to his fly form, he had flitted from one student to another as a bee would when collecting pollen. But he wasn't collecting anything from those students. He was overshadowing them, and feeding the other students surrounding his puppets random lines, cleverly spreading little subtle rumors about Sam that would make those who heard them believe that Sam was not to be trusted, or that she was up to no good. And just for spice, he threw around false information about Armen as well. And whenever he could, he made sure that Danny was somewhere within earshot through it all.

Bertrand snickered in satisfaction to himself observing the reactions of the un-shadowed students. Though none of them had any particular interest in the unpopular girl or the practically non-existent foreign boy before, they were suddenly curious about the news Bertrand had planted and ultimately spread by their own friends. And Bertrand knew that this was all the seed he needed to make that rumor—like the others—grow into an ugly, new one.

Satisfied once more that this was enough for now, the shape shifter headed back to the Ghost Zone—and to Spectra's lair to tell her the latest ugly buzz that was circulating in the school, compliments of him…..

Before the last bell rang, Danny and Sam had already noticed the strange stares that they had been suddenly getting from teens that they didn't even know throughout the day. It was bad enough that they were worried about Tucker, but now, it seemed as if all the school had inexplicably taken an interest in them for some reason.

Sam had felt the hair on the back of her neck send chills down her spine on more than one occasion as she passed by some students. She just knew that the stares had been especially about her. She didn't know why she had even noticed them, as she usually didn't let the silly concerns of others bother her. Still, she couldn't help but get the feeling that this was not making things better for her, Danny or Tucker.

Danny, too, had been bothered by all the sudden—and very unwanted—attention. But he had found out accidentally what it was all about. The snippets of conversation he had inadvertently heard here and there throughout the day, had given him enough of a clue. And he didn't like what they were saying. Still, he tried to ignore them, knowing that it was best to try not to encourage such ugly words. But at times, he even had to go as far as convincing himself that those students had been talking about some other 'Sam' in order to keep his cool.

Still, underneath, he gritted his teeth in silent anger when he guessed that Al had been behind it all.

But Danny was, of course, wrong about the blonde girl. In fact, she had purposely been avoiding both him and Sam. Al was still slightly miffed about all that had happened to Armen, but still felt that Armen couldn't have understood what he had done and said, and it was all that girl Sam's fault. Still, she wondered why—slightly—why Sam hadn't been around for the last several days. Maybe she had gotten the message? Al couldn't help but hope so. She began to cool down with that thought—but made sure she stayed away from the couple all the same.

Armen, on the other hand, had been more than happy to avoid Danny and Sam—and particularly Sam. He was devastated about all the unexplained things that had happened to him, and how he could possibly have lost track of all that time for those days in the past weeks. He had noticed more and more students looking his way when he passed them, and he couldn't even begin to understand what was being said of him. He had felt that he should keep as low a profile as possible until he could figure this all out—if he even could.

Still, Armen was slightly relieved that Al had forgiven him for _whatever_ he did. He was glad that she somehow had taken his side in everything; and even though he was not happy that she blamed Sam for all this, at least she wasn't blaming _him_. He really needed someone to help him through this growing concern that he was losing his mind. His worry over himself made him edgy, and even suspicious, of those around him.

Still, the one saving grace both Danny and Sam did have in this otherwise terrible day was avoiding Armen and Al the entire day. They really hadn't wondered why that couple hadn't been seeking them out anymore; they were just thankful that they hadn't run into those to very weird kids at all.

In the meanwhile, even when Danny and Sam had done their best to ignore all the negative vibes they got throughout the day, they hadn't been aware that all those ugly stares and words had taken their mental toll on them just the same. They were more exhausted than they thought when the day had ended. And that was compounded especially with their mounting concern about Tucker. He hadn't tried to even look up at the teacher, much less Danny or Sam, when they were in a particular class. And he didn't even join them for lunch. His best friends felt that it was only going to get worse as the day went by. And they were right. Tucker was sinking lower into his miserable pit as the day dragged by.

Finally, the excruciating school day ended for everyone. Danny looked in earnest for Tucker right after school, but had no luck in finding him.

* * *

By the end of the day, Tucker and Valerie were no good to anybody, and Valerie skirted home as soon as the release bell rang. She was so numb from what happened that she hadn't even bothered to go to her locker at the end of the day. She just couldn't face Tucker right then—or now.

She ignored the ghost alarm that suddenly went off, growling in frustration as she turned the device completely off. She couldn't think straight enough to even care about any ghost at this moment. When at last she saw the outside steps of her home, the numbness had been replaced with the sudden pressure on her heart, and she began to cry again. She bounded up to her room, helpless to stop her tears. She fell face first onto her bed, bawling right into her pillow. In hardly anytime, the bed grew heavy with her tears.

Tucker was no better, and had also made a beeline to his own home without going to his locker or even saying 'good-bye' to Danny and Sam. He charged into his house and failed to notice his mother's wide-eyed stare of disbelief when she saw how awful her son looked when he came in. Without stopping for his usual snack, he went right up to his room and plopped face first onto his bed, hoping that now that he had his nose against his mattress, he could just snuff out his heart.

* * *

In all this while, Sam then caught up with her boyfriend after school, and immediately noticing that Tucker was missing, focused all her attention on that matter.

"So, where's Tucker?" she asked Danny, searching the hallway, which was quickly dwindling in other students. She then quickly opened her locker.

Already finishing up at his locker, her boyfriend replied, "Don't know. But I'm getting plenty worried about him. Did you get a chance to see how badly he was looking today?"

Sam nodded. She had noticed. She replied, "Yeah. Do you think he told Valerie?"

"I don't know. That would explain a lot, though. This is just not like him," Danny said.

"Well, why don't you call him up or something?" Sam suggested.

"Not yet. From the little snatches I saw of him today, I'm not sure if I'll make matters worse."

"Well, you might be right. But let's not wait too long to try to talk to him. After all, we both had agreed that we needed to extend our 'fierce loyalty' to him," Sam said with a wry, though weak, smile.

Danny returned a barely noticeable smirk to her and grabbed her hand, just before leading her out of the school.

They continued to walk home, mentally and physically exhausted and worried about Tucker.

And, of course, oblivious to the fact that Bertrand and Spectra, now satisfied that the time was right, were becoming even more anxious to move on the next phase of their plans.


	29. Chapter 29 Mounting Turmoil

**A/N: Hi, y'all! How are ya? I hope you all are well and defrosting! It was actually nice today, sunny and warm, like the ol' South that I know and love. But—and I still can't believe it-we're supposed to get another cold spell soon! Will spring EVER come? But, speaking of cold spells, looks like that's right up this chapter's alley. Lots of turmoil is now coming up. You know that love often means heartache. So, hope y'all stick with me. Remember the IDNOAC thing and here is Chapter 29. Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 29—Mounting Turmoil

The next few days dragged on for Tucker, and Valerie. Neither of them could sleep well at all. But, now, they were not the only ones. Because of their worry over Tucker, Danny and Sam were also losing sleep.

Tucker was especially miserable. He felt drained all the time—'thanks' to his decision to break up with Valerie and to Bertrand siphoning off his pheromones these last few days. He had a hard time focusing in _and_ out of school, and had absolutely no appetite.

Even when the three best friends finally got the chance to be alone together, and Danny and Sam finally could try to talk to Tucker, they couldn't say the right words to cheer up their friend. All Danny and Sam could do, then, was try to steer clear of Valerie for his sake; and in the meantime, offer him some type of support, even if it were in awkward silence.

In all that while, when the unnatural lull among the three of them crept uncomfortably up the others' back, Danny and Sam were secretly waiting and hoping that their friend would finally talk it all out and break the dismal spell that separated them. But, so far, he wouldn't.

In fact, Tucker was so upset, he hadn't even thought about talking about it to anyone—his friends, his parents, or even to himself. He really didn't know how. And at this point, he didn't want to know how. If he did, he just knew he'd totally lose it, and crash head first right into a vortex of unending despair. But really, with Bertrand's diligent harvesting of the boy's misery pheromones making him more miserable, Tucker was heading for that crash anyhow.

So, most of the time, lately, that cloud of silent gloom hovering over the three best friends whenever they were together seemed to have become the norm. Definitely not at all what they wanted; but they also didn't want to pressure the others to change it, though Danny and Sam were growing more concerned over Tucker as the days ebbed away. And it didn't help matters when that started to rub their own nerves raw.

As for Valerie, she was even more upset than she thought she would be. But she also was extremely tired all the time. She didn't know, of course, that Bertrand was keeping close to her as well, having a field day collecting _her_ misery. Still, she couldn't understand why Tucker would break off their budding relationship over her being the 'Red Huntress'.

While she got ready for work after another emotionally draining day at school, ignored by Tucker and his friends—again—she tried to think it through. "I just don't get it!" she grumbled as she brushed her hair. "I didn't think that Tucker would get that bent out-of-shape over all of this! After all, he's not particularly 'anti-ghost hunting' himself. He hangs around Danny, and Danny's parents hunt ghosts. I thought he would be excited to see that I love to hunt ghosts, too….but then again, I thought Tucker was different, special."

She jolted with that thought. He had become—_was—-_special…to her. She felt her heart burn as she continued talking out loud to herself, "He was always so understanding before, why not now? What's the big deal, anyway? I thought this time it would be just as easy for him to understand and that he would roll with it." She paused at that thought before adding with irritation in her voice, "Maybe I thought wrong!"

She quickly and angrily wiped the tears that had begun to escape her eyes. "Well, I can roll with it, too, Tucker Foley! I don't need you! I don't need anybody! I was doing just fine before you butted into my life!"

She startled with that train of thought. What she just felt just now was exactly how she felt whenever she thought about that blasted Ghost Kid! She grew angrier. That jerk of a ghost had even managed to butt into her thoughts right now of all times! She unconsciously growled in hatred and threw the brush she still had in her hands at the mirror in front of her, shattering it.

"Valerie!" her father yelled upon hearing the crash. He quickly went to his daughter's room. He saw the broken mirror and his daughter's flushed face when he came in. But he didn't get mad at all. He knew all along that something was very wrong; and he hadn't seen Tucker for a while now. He hadn't said anything, waiting for Valerie to approach him.

And apparently, she indirectly did. They stood there a moment, not sure of what to do. But then, her father quietly asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Valerie said nothing at first, but an instant later, she threw herself into her father's arms and wailed, "Oh, Daddy!" before burying her face into his chest and letting herself bawl.

Damon stood helpless, holding his daughter as she cried her heart out. He swallowed hard. This was very serious. He grew angry, wondering what Tucker had done to his baby girl that had caused such anguish in her.

Finally, Valerie's sobs slowed and she pulled gently away from her father. She then pulled the tears away from her face, and still sniffling, said, "You were right, Daddy. I shouldn't have told Tucker, Danny, and Sam about my secret. It was a total disaster!" She stopped and heaved a heavy sigh and pushed another tear away. She tried to steel herself so she could break the news to her father. "And now….now Tucker…has broken up with me, all because of that stupid thing that I did. Oh, why didn't I listen to you?" She felt her lower lip quiver and her father gently pushed away the tear-soaked hair that had fallen into her still tear-heavy eyes.

He looked down at her and swallowed hard. It no longer mattered to him that he had been right about not wanting her to reveal her secret like she did. She was hurting too much. He softly said, "I don't think it was a stupid thing that you did. I thought it was very brave of you to do that. Taking risks with friends is, well, very risky. And that takes guts to take that jump, especially when you wanted to be totally honest with them. But, sometimes, things backfire. And you've placed yourself wide open to get hurt. That doesn't mean that what you did was wrong, just that your friends weren't ready for it. Give them time, and they'll come around."

"But they won't even _look_ at me, much less talk to me! None of them will! Especially Tucker!" she objected, feeling the watery pressure around her eyes again. She hugged him tightly once more.

Damon unconsciously bit his lower lip. She was _very_ upset and _very_ serious. It was times like this that he wished her mother were here. But, of course, that wasn't possible. He felt a lump in his own throat at the thought and unconsciously looked up to the heavens.

"_Help me help her, Livia!"_ he found his lips silently saying to his long-dead wife. He felt a single tear run down his face as he said her name. He thought that time would have prevented that tear from happening by now, but obviously not. _"I've done my best to rear her since we…lost you in that horrible accident, but I don't think_ _I'm being much help to her right now. She has never gotten over the pain about that, even when she refused to think that it was that drunk driver who was responsible for ripping you out of our lives. I could never convince her that it wasn't her fault." _

"_But our baby always felt responsible. She always said that if only she had not given you a hard time about going with you to the store, if she hadn't delayed you, you would still be here. __For crying out loud, Livia, she was only ten! Tell me what to do, please!"_

He coughed a little as moisture slipped down the back of his throat. Valerie pulled away when he did and when she saw how upset he was, she softly said, "Daddy, are you OK?"

"Yes, Baby," he said, knowing he had to be strong for her. "I was…was thinking about how much I love you and I somehow feel that this will all work out in the end. And I know I've given Tucker a hard time, but I really like him. And I think he'll come around in the end, too. Just let him cool a bit, and I'm sure he'll realize that you are as special as I think you are! And even if he doesn't, it'll be his loss." He smiled weakly after that statement. He hoped he hadn't screwed it up too badly.

"Thank you, Daddy," Valerie quietly said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek this time. "I hope you're right that Tucker will come around. I…I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't, because I…I think…I love him.

"I know, Baby," he quietly said, and the way he said it, Valerie just knew he wasn't humoring her in the least, or thinking she was being childish about how she felt. But it also didn't occur to her that he had noticed the change in her recently: that ever since she started seeing Tucker, she was less edgy. Even happier. That she seemed to walk a little lighter and smiled more readily, even laughing right away at his lame jokes, instead of rolling her eyes and groaning like she usually did before. And that could only have meant one thing….

"Well, I'm alright now, Daddy. I better get to work, or I'll be late," she said with a weak smile, brushing away the last insistent tear.

She gave him another long hug after that and he silently mouthed a "Thank you!" to the heavens.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Another restless night came and went for the three best friends—and Valerie.

The next morning, Danny and Sam walked in autopilot to their friend's house. Tucker's depression was starting to rub off on them—big time—- especially when they couldn't mollify him in the least. They simply didn't know what to do for him. Even when they did their best to be a little cheerful and supportive whenever all three were together, nothing seemed to help. And that made Danny and Sam edgy as well.

It didn't help that those once-seemingly-insignificant rumors at school were now a steady undercurrent, compliments of Bertrand. Sam was just plain annoyed with it, but it was beginning to gnaw at Danny.

He was having a harder time ignoring the rumors, especially when they were increasing and getting more vocal around him. Why would such rumors persist? Why should all those kids care a fig about them? But what concerned him more was that these rumors hadn't been about any other 'Sam' but his. Why? He tried to push the thoughts away, but underneath, something clung and started to take root in him.

So, with all the worry about Tucker's dilemma and Bertrand's rumors, Danny and Sam hadn't even realized that they had begun to pick at each other for the littlest things. Each time, however, when they did finally realize that they were, they quickly apologized to the other. Still, it didn't ease the tension between the two of them.

As they walked along, Sam did think it helped a little that they were no longer meeting up with Valerie. But still, with all the stress they were all dealing with lately, it seemed to be getting colder outside; and she pulled her jacket closer.

Finally, they arrived at Tucker's house and were surprised when Tucker's mother stepped out.

"I'm sorry, Sam and Danny, but Tucker's not going to school today. He's just not feeling well at all," the woman said.

"Thanks for telling us, Mrs. Foley," Danny replied, frowning a bit in worry. "Would you tell him that we'll get his homework for him?"

"And that he can call us later if he needs anything?" Sam piped in.

Mrs. Foley nodded appreciatively. "Of course, I will. Good-bye and have a good day."

They waved to their friend's mother just before they resumed their walk. But then, suddenly, Danny gave his girlfriend a smirk as he flippantly said, "_Nice_. So, is Tucker on your 'On My Good Side' list now?"

Without skipping a beat, Sam tersely replied, "And what was _that_ supposed to mean? Just because its absolutely cold out here, doesn't mean that I am!" But when she snapped at him, she hadn't realized that she currently _sounded _cold, had pulled her hand out of his, and stopped dead in her tracks.

Danny looked a bit taken aback by her sudden defensiveness. This wasn't like her and normally, he would have tried to calm her right away. But since he was as much out of sorts as she was right now, he reflexively shot back, "Well, you could fool me. You're making my central core look hot compared to that remark."

"Oh, is that so? Well, you should know all about being the cold one around here," she snapped back.

She then gasped. What was she saying? She didn't mean any of that.

But her gasp was all they both needed to make them come to their senses. They were picking at each other again—all because of the stress they were definitely feeling over Tucker, their lack of sleep, and all those rumors.

They blinked at each other at the realization.

Then Sam frowned in remorse before stuttering her response, "I-I…"

But Danny interrupted her once he saw the change in her face. He knew what she was feeling. With a weak, but sorry, smile, he replied, "I'm sorry, too, Sam. I guess I did kind of start it. And I didn't mean it like that. I just thought that since you've been off-and-on about getting angry with Tucker, that it was nice to hear that you're not upset with him anymore." He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze as he said that.

She returned his weak smile, but didn't answer him. Instead, she squeezed his hand back. But that only made her feel slightly better. And now she was even more aware on how cold it was, and shivered.

Nevertheless, they continued on to Casper High in silence.

xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, Spectra was getting more anxious to put her plan into full motion. And she now wished she hadn't let Bertrand change her mind. Just why she had given in to Bertrand's insisting that they harvest all the ready-to-pick pheromones right in their reach during these past few days was beyond her. All that did was delay things more, especially when Bertrand had to get more receptacles now that the others were full from all that he had gotten from Tucker and Valerie.

But, of course, both of the ghosts were as greedy as they were impatient; and Spectra growled with both. She tried to quell her mounting hunger with other thoughts.

Sure, so far, the goods already delivered by Bertrand did the job, and she was as radiant as ever. And there were even some left over for later. And, really, stocking up was better insurance than having nothing. The shadow ghost wouldn't admit it to Bertrand, but she was pleased that Tucker and Valerie's accidental contributions to her cause were desirable and effective. But she knew these doses were still only temporary; and she wanted some of the stuff that would last almost indefinitely. And that stuff was what they would get from Danny Phantom.

Finally, the time to move on their real agenda was already way past in being right in Spectra's mind. She insisted that they had gotten enough of the Geek Boy's and his ex-girl's pheromones and it was time to get to the real meat.

This time, Bertrand agreed, since he knew that once those two teens finally got over their relationship, the well would dry up. Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten about the much deeper and richer well that was almost ready for dipping.

So, now that they were in total agreement, Spectra and Bertrand quickly headed out to the school with the two caged ghost animals in tow. But they were only going to use one of them in the first part of their scheme right now. And that would be Sarah.

Not that they hadn't planned on using her first all along. They had. But they also had plans for her husband. Right now, he was their insurance to keep Sarah in line. And right now, they had the assurance that Derek would definitely not be a hindrance to that—by knocking him out, complements of Spectra's power rays. The evil couple made sure that Sarah had seen Spectra's unprovoked attack on her husband just before they left in order to undoubtedly instill fear in the dove for her husband's safety.

And it worked.

The young dove trembled, frightful not only for her husband's well-being, but also of what the shadow ghost had planned for her to do. She had no choice, after all. She still had not been able to pry the bars of her own cage open enough to squeeze through the hole she had started. She was at least thankful that the hole was nearest the bottom of the cage and that she still was able to successfully hide her work with bedding that was in the cage.

Nevertheless, when she could see that those two evil ghosts were almost ready to go, the ghost dove braved her plea, "Please, Mistress Spectra, will you please show us mercy and let us go? If you do, we swear we will tell no one of this and will never bother you again."

At first, Spectra ignored the ghost animal, and Sarah quivered in worry.

Instead, Spectra turned to Bertrand and said, "We have plenty of that masking stuff, don't we?"

"Yes, plenty for now. But we have to use it sparingly."

This time, Spectra huffed slightly before redirecting her gaze to the still shivering dove. Her face contorted to a wicked scowl and Sarah recoiled at the evil, almost swearing that it was actually buffeting her.

Spectra hissed through her fangs, "You are in no position to bargain! You will do exactly what I say or your dear little insignificant husband will get the worst end of it! And in his current condition, he won't be able to withstand another blow from me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mistress, it is," Sarah sadly replied, dropping her head in shame.

But she shot her head up when Spectra added, "Now, what you need to do is simple enough for your little brain. We can't possibly overshadow the Ghost Kid, so we'll have to just use the others as we did before. Just wait for Bertrand's signal and do what we told you to do, and that will be it. Is that clear?"

Sarah stole a glance to her unconscious husband, fighting the tears when she could still see the fresh wound he had suffered from Spectra. She then barely nodded and mumbled, "Yes, Mistress," before letting her head fall in defeat once more.

Before too long, they had arrived near the entrance of the high school. Spectra placed the cage bearing the still senseless wildcat behind a large bush and took the compliant dove out of her cage. The dove dutifully alit onto the shadow ghost's arm and waited in silence.

Now satisfied-—and determined—-Spectra nodded to her assistant.

Bertrand reached into his pocket and pulled out the little machine in order to spray them with the masking concoction. But before he could, Spectra whipped the aerosol-delivering device right out of his hands.

"Hey!" he instantly objected, scrunching his brow, obviously perturbed with indignation.

But he was too late.

Before he could do anything about it, the female shadow ghost was spraying a hefty dose of the masking mist all over herself, as if she were applying perfume before going on a hot date. Not a moment later, and she sprayed as similarly heavy portion over Sarah.

The small ghost animal coughed on the pungent gas.

"Spectra, that's too much!" Bertrand objected again before he also coughed on the fumes once Spectra had also given him a heavy dose.

"Can't be too careful. I want this to go right this time," she said with a hint of both flippancy and threat in her voice.

Bertrand's nostrils flared in anger and crossing his arms, huffed and pouted.

Spectra ignored him and commanded, "Let's go!"

Bertrand's eyes widened in slight surprise, not expecting or wanting her to ignore him, but he did as she commanded anyway.

The trio all turned intangible and invisible at the same time, and finally headed into the school...


	30. Chapter 30 The Stage is Set

**A/N: Hello, every-bod-ee! How are ya? I certainly hope each of you have a very Happy Easter and get to eat lots of chocolate eggs. I prefer the chocolate bunnies, but, then again, I won't object to chocolate eggs since I'll take whatever chocolate fix I can get! In any case, here's something else for you to chew on: Chapter 30. I still do not own any characters, except, of course, the two ghost animals and those other two teens, but I won't hold that against anyone when I'm having too much fun…well, maybe more like emotional turmoil…with the latest happenings on our heroes! So, give me a sec and let me wipe the chocolate off my hands so that I can send this to ya, OK? And Happy Easter, again. And Enjoy**!

TrueHeart—Chapter 30—The Stage is Set

Danny and Sam just arrived at school—without Tucker, of course—and headed slowly toward their lockers. They were still, of course, not quite awake after their restless nights worrying about Tucker. And having that little spat just before getting to school hadn't helped make them feel any better, even if they had stopped snapping at each other. Both of them tried to ignore their slight headache as they turned their combination locks. As they did, though, they spied Valerie just a little further down from them at her locker. But the hunter merely shot a quick glance at them just before looking into nothing in particular in her locker again.

The couple tried not to react to Valerie's doings and they just opened their lockers. Danny's books, of course, dutifully fell out into a large pile at his feet; and with a groan, he immediately squatted down to retrieve the ones he needed for his first couple of classes.

After yawning again, Sam couldn't help but smirk in amusement at this now expected scene. It really had been the only highlight for her in the past several days, giving her a much-needed, though brief, breath of fresh air from the otherwise murky cloud of discontent which had been surrounding her, Danny and Tucker. She had even had a fleeting thought of concern lately for Valerie. Sam quickly opened her locker right after definitively erasing that thought, and pulled out what she needed.

Neither she nor Danny noticed Valerie looking past them again, still hoping to see Tucker.

Meanwhile, Al had just arrived herself and headed toward her locker. But she purposefully tried to ignore the three other kids not more than a few feet from her.

And she and the others were still unaware that the three ghosts, who had for the most part been the source of their troubles, were also watching and waiting close-by…

Bertrand shot up in attention, and motioned to Spectra that this blond-haired girl was the one they were going to use.

Spectra acknowledge his signal with a head nod and then she harshly whispered to the little dove, "OK. Be ready. And after you do what you're supposed to do, come back here and stay as close to me as possible." She then ironically chuckled, "Don't want you to get lost!"

The dove, in turn, barely nodded in compliance.

Meanwhile, Sam was the first to finish this time, and turning to her boyfriend, tiredly said, "See you at lunch?"

"See you at lunch," he repeated, stifling his yawn while still trying to balance the books he had crammed back in, timing the moment when he could close the door without their spilling out again.

Sam smirked briefly at him once more. But her thoughts then drifted back to all the problems the three best friends were having. She sadly sighed and then tried to squelch another yawn. Barely successful with that, she then headed toward her first class. She ignored Al as she passed by.

"OK, now!" Spectra firmly but quietly commanded as she headed toward Sam, and Sarah headed toward Al.

Spectra was upon Sam in no time and flew right at her from behind. But as she began to overshadow the human girl, the shadow ghost felt a jolt that left her momentarily dizzy.

"_What was __**that**__?"_ she asked herself, trying to shake the wooziness from her mind. She had no idea why that had happened and what that could possibly mean. But she quickly made Sam turn around and head back to her boyfriend.

In the meantime, Bertrand had reminded Sarah on what to do before he morphed into a fly and flew beside her as the ghost dove dutifully flew toward Al. Once near enough, Sarah swooped downward and successfully overshadowed Al. Not a moment later, Sarah had made the girl turn and walk toward Danny.

Danny was still struggling with his locker and was getting frustrated now that it looked like his locker was winning this time in the battle to close it. Finally, he gave the books one last shove and shut the door. He had just finished, when several things happened at once: he got up off the ground and turned to leave, only to find that he was captured in Al's waiting arms; and Spectra left Sam.

"Now!" Bertrand harshly whispered to Sarah through Al's ears and she promptly planted a big, awkward kiss on Danny before he could object.

Her mind now clear and her view even clearer, Sam stood momentarily stunned at what she was witnessing.

Danny quickly pulled the overshadowed girl off of him, wondering why she was so strong. He demanded, "What are you _doing_?" And just then, he saw Sam right behind Al.

But Al didn't say anything and merely tried to lean over to give him another kiss.

Danny then immediately jumped away from the controlled girl and hurried over to his still-shocked girlfriend. "It's not what it definitely looks like, Sam!" he said as he grabbed her arm and ran as fast as he could away from the most definitely weird Al. He turned to Sam again and added, "That was totally random! I don't know what came over her!"

But Sam didn't say anything. She, too, didn't know what to make of this situation or how she had gotten there to witness it.

The fact that Sam wasn't saying anything made Danny nervous. He slowed their pace and asked, "Sam, aren't you going to _say_ _something_?"

Really too tired to think about it, she turned to him and replied, "I don't know what to say. Let's leave it for later, OK?"

"But I want to know what you think," he honestly said, both confused and exasperated about everything.

"I don't know, Danny. I'm having a hard time…"

Thinking that she was referring to the fact that she was having one of her 'it's-hard-to-share-my-feelings' moment, he immediately suggested, "Or, we could…" He, of course, was hinting at using their telepathic powers.

She caught his drift. But she instinctually reacted. "NO!" she firmly said, surprising him. True, she usually welcomed every chance to make sure they would understand each other when they were arguing. But this time, she really wanted to think it through on her own before discussing it in any way with him. In fact, the way she had been feeling lately, and right now, she really could hardly _even_ think.

"OK…It's OK," he said haltingly, still extremely nervous and upset about the situation. "See you later, then?"

She barely nodded, and both of them headed to their next class, neither of them at all satisfied. If they hadn't been so down already with what was happening with Tucker—and that they weren't so tired—they would have been able to keep their heads clear and handle what Spectra and Bertrand still had in store for them.

Unfortunately for Danny, that meant class with Al, who by this time, had been released by Sarah and had no clue on what had happened. Danny was confused as to why the girl didn't even glance at him throughout the entire class; but in the end, he was very glad of it. He even had a fleeting thought that he had imagined that whole scene back there; but, of course, _Sam_ wouldn't have ever imagined that.

But his relief was short-lived. Right when the bell rang, Sarah had overshadowed Al again right outside of class and put her into a darkened corner, and waited for Danny.

Once more, Spectra overshadowed Sam, who was in the classroom across the hall. And again, Spectra received another jolt when she first tried, and noticed a slight resistance to the overshadowing. She pushed harder against it and was finally successful. She quickly maneuvered the human girl into position. The shadow ghost was then suddenly aware that it was somehow harder for her to maintain her overshadowing over the teen girl. But it didn't matter at the moment, because Spectra had Sam where she wanted her. She quickly left the girl, who staggered a little from the experience.

But once Sam had regained her senses, she—along with a few stray students—gasped. She had just witnessed Al kissing her boyfriend again!

"Danny!" she screamed in disbelief. The shock had suddenly stricken her heart with thoughts of one of her insecurities, and she unconsciously threw her fisted hands to her sides.

The few stray students quickly scurried off, spooked by the scene.

She marched right up to Al just as Danny, who was again surprised by how strong Al was, had managed to pry her off of him.

Sam pulled the girl up by her shirt and looking right in her eyes, growled, "You stay away from my guy! I can see right through your plan! First the rumors and now this! I never was after your guy and you leave mine alone, got that?"

At first, the controlled girl looked in fear at Sam and Sam scrunched her face up in puzzlement. But then, Sarah-in-Al stammered, "T-There is n-no plan. Y-You have taken Armen from m-me! Y-you want each other! And now, it is only f-fair that I-I take Danny from you! Besides, I know h-he l-likes me!" Sarah was so upset now, she was barely able to repeat what she had been instructed to say if she as Al were to be confronted by Sam.

"WHAT?" Danny uttered in total shock, before turning to his girl. "That's **not** true, Sam! I have no idea what she's talking about!"

Sam also didn't know what to think. She could understand the first time this happened was only because Al wanted to get back at her. She could even blow this time off with the same thought. After all, the same kind of weirdness had happened to her over Armen.

But her mind wasn't satisfied. It whirled with a million thoughts, all of them not making sense about what was happening. None of this was right…But then, she was suddenly aware of three emotions in particular that she didn't want to be feeling right now. However, her head was so muddled, she couldn't help it.

Danny stood helpless, totally confused about what was happening. Was Sam right, and Al was just getting back at her for what Sam had done to Armen? He jolted at that thought, suddenly remembering what Al had said. What was that about Armen? But Sam insisted that there was nothing between her and Armen…Was the other girl right, then? Al had been right those other two times! He felt a new twinge of pain shoot through his already aching head. And he also felt a twinge of an uncomfortable feeling within him stir. And he knew that feeling. He had felt that when Sam had kissed Armen...

Still, it didn't sit well with him. He tried to throw that notion out and then thought about the other thing Al had said…about him liking her. That was _so _untrue! This girl was definitely mega-weird, yet what could all this mean? Was Al still out to get Sam and, now him, because of all that craziness a while ago about Armen? After all, he had thought Al had been responsible for all those ugly rumors. That would explain it. He looked over to Al and she was just sitting there, looking…looking so _uncomfortable…_ He frowned in confusion when he finally noticed that.

But before he could think about anymore of all this, Sam grabbed his hand and started to pull him away from Al before saying, "Forget about it, then! We'll talk about this later, OK? We're going to be late for the next class!" But her voice didn't hide those feelings she could no longer keep at bay: her anger at Al, her hurt with Danny, or her jealousy from what she had just witnessed.

"OK, Sam, if you say so," he replied just as they headed away from Al, who just stood there, as if not certain on what to do...

But a few moments later, Sarah released the blonde girl and Al gasped in dread. She had thought that all that unexplained craziness that had happened to her a week or so ago was ancient history—and totally freakish. But now, it had happened again! How did she get here and what had happened? She searched all around and sighed in relief that no one was around. Still, she was confused. What had happened? Now she understood how Armen must have felt when he had told her he thought he was losing his mind!

Finally, it was lunchtime, but Spectra and Bertrand weren't finished with Danny and Sam yet.

This time, they exchanged the ghost animals, locking Sarah up and taking the now recovered Derek with them under the same threat that if he didn't cooperate, Spectra would allow Bertrand to finally satisfy his wolf-form's appetite with Sarah.

Danny had arrived first at the cafeteria and had already gotten a seat when Sam finally came in. He saw her and waved. But just as she headed toward her boyfriend, Derek overshadowed Armen and brought him closer to Sam. When Sam caught his approach to her in the corner of her eye, she instinctively and violently veered away from him.

But then, Spectra headed the goth girl off at the last moment. And suddenly, as Spectra tried to overshadow Danny's girl once more, she found herself having even more difficulty doing just that. Fortunately, she finally succeeded and turned the controlled girl's path back to the overshadowed boy.

Right there, right in front of Danny and the whole room, Armen grabbed Sam and gave her a big kiss.

Several kids gasped in shock—including Al—while others laughed nervously, confused at the sight. They knew that the goth girl had never even kissed her boyfriend like that in school.

Al immediately ran out in tears.

Danny was stunned. But he immediately thought, _"Is she getting back at me for what she saw earlier? Or is she more interested in Armen, like Al said?"_

This was it. He completely disregarded that there was something wrong in all this and rashly responded in jealousy. He marched right up to the still-kissing pair.

But before he got to them, Spectra inadvertently had to release her hold onto Sam before this scene could play out. Somehow, she couldn't maintain her control over the girl.

Sam instantly became aware of Armen's kissing her and she immediately pulled away, gasped, and shoved the boy off as hard as she could. But her attempt only partially succeeded, and Derek-within-Armen merely stumbled back a bit from her.

Derek was so upset by what he had done and by Sam's unexpected—but understandable—reaction, that he immediately released the human teen when that happened.

The poor, innocent Armen groaned as his mind began to clear, only to yelp a little at feeling his body's suddenly being yanked violently back. Before he knew it, he had lost his balance and landed right on the ground.

He looked up in a daze, wondering what could have possibly made him fall, when he _heard_ his answer. And even though he couldn't quite comprehend the words, he clearly understood the anger behind them.

"This time, I'm only warning you once, jerk! Stay away from my girl!" Danny seethed through gritted teeth. He was so angry, he hadn't noticed how he had been jabbing an angry, shaking finger at Armen and his other hand had been in a tight fist the entire time. Nor had Danny realized that his eyes had momentarily flashed a ghostly green—and, fortunately, neither had the still-dazed Armen—or anyone else for that matter.

Sam jolted at her boyfriend's reaction and then finally noticed everyone in the room staring in disbelief at them. But before she could even make any sense of it or say anything, Danny was firmly grabbing at and pulling her by her wrist.

"Let's go!" he commanded, giving her no chance to respond.

He guided her right to the nearest closet, morphed into Phantom, and still holding onto her wrist, shot upward, making them both intangible as he did. He flew to a small area on the roof that would allow them to sit undisturbed.

Finally, he turned to his girlfriend and angrily said, "Sam, if that's your idea of getting back at me, even when you haven't given me the change to explain all that happened—even though I really can't explain it—I think it's one of the worst things you could ever do to me! That was so unfair!"

"But Danny, I don't know what happened. I mean, until I saw Armen right on top of me!"

"Was that before he kissed you or after you wanted a breathing break?"

Her mouth fell open at his accusation, but she quickly rebounded, and spat back, "I can't believe you would even think that…that…And that's not even worth a response! I _told _you I don't know what happened. One moment I was going into the cafeteria, and the next, I was kissing Armen! I can't explain it!"

Danny looked at her, unconvinced. "OK. I said I would wait for you to be ready to talk about this. But something is totally not right here. I think it's time we talk about it _our_ way!"

"You're right, Danny!" she replied. Even though she wasn't ready, this was too important now and she knew, underneath, she trusted him.

They both concentrated, but because they were both still tired from their restless nights, their connection failed.

Danny suddenly had a fleeting suspicion that Sam was purposely trying to block him. But then, she interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Danny, I'm so tired, I'm having a hard time concentrating. Can we try it again?" she said out loud.

He nodded, suddenly realizing that he, too, had had the same difficulty—for the same reason.

They tried again and this time, Danny mentally gasped at the next thought he felt from her. She was totally confused over the whole thing. He had never known her to be this….lost.

But then, he mentally said to her, "_OK, now what happened? And why did you do that?"_

"_I already told you, I don't __**know**__!" _

Danny could feel that some of her thoughts about the incident with Armen were blanked out. That same wild thought then hit him again. Was she purposely blocking it and keeping him from the truth? That would make some sense, since she still struggled with being able to tell him her _real _feelings. And she was better at this telepathic stuff than he was. Or was he reading too much into their power? He didn't think so. Then, she couldn't be lying, could she? Sometimes, she did kinda lie when she couldn't spit out the way she was feeling. Maybe she was better at _that_ than he was as well…

But before he could muse more about it, Sam surprised him with her next mental comment, _"OK. I admit it! I couldn't help but be jealous and suspicious when Al kissed you earlier! I would have let it slide because I thought she was getting back at me for all that craziness that happened with Armen and me a couple of weeks ago. But when she said you were interested in her, I thought you were tired of me and I guess I went a little crazy myself!"_

"_So you __**did**__ kiss Armen on purpose just now!"_ he accused.

"_No, I __**didn't!**__ I don't know what happened!"_

"_That doesn't make any sense, Sam! I'm not sure what to make of this. You say one thing, yet I don't get why you're blocking me when it comes to the real reason why you kissed Armen."_

"_But I'm __**not**__ blocking it! I swear, Danny!"_ she insisted.

He paused. She seemed sincere, yet why did she block the memory?

But then, he realized that his headache had increased and that he couldn't concentrate anymore. Though both irritated by this snafu and that he was still not appeased, he continued, now speaking out loud to her, "Well, OK. Maybe we need a 'time out' to think this over!"

Not only did Sam notice that he had severed their connection, but she could also tell that his voice still sounded accusatory. She wanted to say something sarcastic right back at him, but stopped just short of that, suddenly feeling that that wouldn't make the situation better. Plus, her headache was worse. She tensed up and then silently grunted. All this 'feeling sharing' stuff had made her grow soft! She put on her "old Sam' mode and said, "OK, can we just drop this whole thing and chalk it up to total weirdness-again?"

But Danny could tell that she was conflicted and edgy when she said that. She might be hiding something after all! But why would she do that now? She had been beginning to be so…so open with him since they had gotten this special bond between them. He had liked that. And now she was back to guarding herself, something she had been so good at in the past. Still, his muddled mind could not come up with any other possible explanation. Something was up. He finally responded, "Yeah, right. It's certainly totally weird. Too weird. But, still, I'm not happy about it at all."

"Me, neither, Danny, but you've got to believe me!" she replied and he could tell by her tone that there was a little of the 'true' Sam in that response.

He hesitated again. He had always believed her until this. Even when she had a hard time sharing her real feelings, struggling to be more open with him, he had believed her. Yet he had a nagging feeling that she was hiding something. Why did she block him? Still, he could also tell that she had essentially blown off _his_ incidence with Al, except for her being jealous. But this was nothing really new about her. It was easy for her to move on. She _wasn't _the grudge-holding type. That made him feel slightly better. But not totally. He finally said, "Well, we don't have anymore time to talk about it now. It's time to get to class already."

"OK, Danny," she said, slightly relieved.

But he couldn't help the feeling that she was relieved because she had gotten away with blocking the truth from him.

Just the same, he brought her back down to the janitor's closet. They went their separate ways, not at all satisfied about the results of their conversation.

And still, they remained totally unaware that Spectra and Bertrand weren't through with them—yet.


	31. Chapter 31 Murky Undercurrents

TrueHeart—Chapter 31—Murky Undercurrents

Even though Danny and Sam were still upset at what had happened at lunch, and the fact that nothing had really been resolved between the two of them, they were a bit relieved that at least they hadn't even seen either Al or Armen during all that time. But they didn't know that those two teens had been avoiding _them_ as well.

Still, their avoidance of one another was a good thing, especially since Danny and Sam's lack of sleep was fast catching up with them. With their fatigue now taking a significant toll on them, they were having a hard enough time concentrating in class, much less having to deal with confronting those stranger-by-the-second kids again.

But, fortunately, they were going to be getting a break from the class thing, since most of the end of the school day would be devoted to a school rally to cheer on the basketball team.

Just as the entire student body headed for the gym for the event, Danny searched for Sam in the migrating crowd. Shrugging it off that he couldn't find her at first, and knowing that he'd eventually catch up with her, he continued toward the gym when he spied…them—again!

Armen, overshadowed by Derek again, had an overshadowed Sam enveloped within his arms snuggling in a corner! But Danny frowned in confusion when he looked at his girl from this angle. Somehow, her face didn't look right. Still, he threw that thought out, irritated that it had momentarily distracted him from the real--and disconcerting--issue just in front of him.

"_Sam!"_ he yelled to her mind as he hurried toward the controlled pair. He wondered why she didn't answer him, but then he guessed it. She was purposely blocking him again!

But Spectra, who was overshadowing his girlfriend, got at mental jolt when _she_ heard him in her mind.

"_What was __**that**__?"_ the shadow ghost mentally hissed, still smarting from his inadvertent mental attack. _"And __**who**__ was that?"_

But before she could think about it any further, her hold on Sam suddenly began to wane.

"_And what is happening __**now**__?"_ Spectra asked herself as she felt herself unwillingly being pushed out of Sam.

But then, she heard a tiny Bertrand whisper to her through Sam's ear, "The Ghost Boy's coming!"

With one last effort before she would be out of the girl, Spectra made Sam grab the dazed Armen and give him a big kiss.

Danny gasped. There was no mistake this time. _Sam_ was doing the kissing! He quickly pried the pair away from each other, pulling at Armen with such force that Armen staggered backward and slammed into the wall.

More upset with Sam this time, Danny firmly whirled her around to face him and hissed, "Now you've crossed the line, Sam!" But he jolted when she didn't even look at or say anything to him. He became more infuriated, his earlier thoughts of her purposely hiding things from him suddenly rearing their ugly heads. She must be doing it again! He felt his heart pounding with hurt.

But a moment later, Sam came back to her senses, her eyes barely focusing at first, but her gaze had drifted not to Danny, but rather to an overshadowed Armen lying dazed and on the ground not too far from her. She gasped in confusion.

But then, her blurry eyes turned to an obviously angry Danny, and she gasped again just as she heard her boyfriend say, "And looks like you've been lying all along to me! I can't believe it! Why, Sam, why? What made you do this? What made _you _kiss Armen?"

But he didn't give her a chance to answer. He darted away, feeling as if his heart had been stabbed and all of his emotions were pouring out from it. But he left mainly because he was afraid of what the answer might be.

Sam stood stunned, not believing what her boyfriend had just said and why she was even here…with Armen—again! What had happened? That couldn't be true! She would _never_ kiss Armen! But…Danny wouldn't just make that all up…So, then, what possible explanation could there be?

She stopped when her next thoughts jumped right in front of her. Was she going crazy? Were her telepathic powers making her forget things and making her totally unaware about what was happening around her? She gasped. Were they going haywire and making her do crazy things?

She instantly bolted after Danny, desperately screaming his name to his mind as she did. But she couldn't get through to him. He was too confused, hurt, and angry; and the powerful combination of those very strong and real emotions totally blocked her out of his mind.

She didn't stop running even in her failure to connect with her boyfriend. She hoped that she could catch him before he could morph into Phantom and get away.

But no matter where she desperately searched, she couldn't find him. She stood all alone in the empty classroom in which she found herself, confused and devastated. She should be angry at her boyfriend for his reaction. After all, she didn't do _anything,_ and had no clue how all of this could have happened. Suddenly, she jolted. If what he said was true, he must have been feeling the same way that _she_ had felt when the very same thing happened to him--when Al had kissed him earlier today! Suddenly she understood his reaction—even if she couldn't explain what had happened at all—and knew that he had every right to be upset.

She searched her tired mind, trying to make _any_ sense of it. So then, how _did _this happen? Her mind drew a blank. Trying not to panic, and thinking once again that maybe her telepathic powers were the culprit, she drilled the question into her overwrought mind again: **what did this all mean**? Once more, she could not come up with that elusive answer. But what if she was right about her telepathic powers? She had been feeling so strangely lately about them. What if she was losing total control over them?

The dull headache she had had most of the day suddenly ratcheted up a notch, and the pain dulled her reasoning—and unleashed her panic. But, she didn't want to lose control. So, then, what was she going to do? She had to find Danny! But when she thought about him, about how upset he was and must still be, she suddenly felt as if her heart had been seized in a vice. Then, she felt her confused heart pounding in her chest, struggling to yank itself from that force. But she couldn't. She bolted out of the school, running toward home. She had to go. She couldn't take the swelling of emotions that were about to overtake her, and didn't want to let anyone see her cry.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bertrand commanded Derek to release his hold on Armen and the human fell against the wall in confusion. But when Armen saw he was all alone, and on the ground, and he didn't know why—again--he gasped. He did the only thing he thought he could do. He had to find and tell Al! His memory finally coming into focus, he instantly pulled himself up and headed where she would eventually be, and that was towards the gym.

After the dazed boy left the scene, Bertrand instructed the wildcat to return to Spectra at their agreed upon rendezvous point. Derek growled in acknowledgement; and just as he left, Bertrand soared after Danny.

Derek saw Spectra waiting for him. But at first, he was confused. The shadow ghost was _laughing_, barely able to contain herself over what just had transpired between Danny and Sam. He floated nearer, searching his mind as to why she would find all of this so amusing. He did not think it was humorous at all. In fact, he was still very ashamed about it all. And he felt a dome of doom sagging over him because of it. And he did not want to bear any of it much longer. He just had to think of some way to get him and his wife out of this mess. However, his thoughts were interrupted once Spectra saw him.

She chuckled, but Derek felt an uncomfortable chill move up his ghostly spine with how evil a laugh it was. "So, you and your wife have been perfect this time!" she began. "And I think that the wedge has finally embedded into those two silly hearts. It won't be long now and then I'll have enough pheromone ambrosia from that Ghost Brat to last indefinitely!"

The wildcat growled in disgust, but was slightly confused by her comment. What 'Ghost Brat'? He saw no ghosts save the three of them. And the only other beings there were just humans. But he quickly and angrily threw that thought out. It did not matter! He was only interested in getting him and his wife out of this predicament.

He finally braved a response, "Now that we have done your ugly and despicable bidding, will you let Sarah and me go? We cannot bear the guilt of this evil we have done anymore. You have what you want and more. You have dealt us a shameful blow in helping you tear all those innocents apart, especially these last two tender hearts. You should be happy to know that we will never forgive ourselves and will add this burden of shame upon us for all eternity."

"I swear! Do you have to be so melodramatic?!" she replied, irritated. But she wasn't interested in whatever his answer might be, and her voice instantly turned cold. "But as far as letting you and Sarah go? Not in your afterlife! You both are my insurance, just in case the final blow takes too long! I want to make certain that the Ghost Brat's love life is destroyed. In fact, I want to make sure he's so broken, he won't be able to fight me again. So, you both will just have to hang around until that's final."

The lynx roared in anger, this time bearing his fangs and claws and lunging toward her.

But Spectra was the quicker and before Derek could strike, she had shot him with a large and powerful purple energy ray. It struck him head on, instantly electrocuting his entire body before knocking him out completely.

As she sneered at the small animal now at her feet, she impatiently hissed, "Now where's Bertrand when I need him?"

But her assistant, of course, was going after Danny at the moment.

She sighed indignantly and produced another amethyst beam, which engulfed the senseless cat within it, and formed a bubble around him. It was quickly followed by still another beam which supported the energy orb and levitated it. The shadow ghost turned herself and the sphere invisible right away, and returned to the outside of the school, towing the energy ball behind her.

The shadow ghost headed right to the area where she had left Derek's cage as well as the still encased Sarah. The little bird gasped within her own cage when Spectra suddenly arrived on the scene, becoming visible with her unconscious husband as she did.

As Sarah watched on, the shadow ghost quickly dissipated the glowing purple orb around the senseless lynx and lifted the ghost animal with another energy beam almost instantly afterward. The ghost dove looked anxiously on as Spectra's purple ray then suspended her husband as it steered toward his cage.

Once the evil ghost had placed her husband in his pen, Sarah demanded, "What did you do to him?" But she had unconsciously pressed herself against the same area of the birdcage that she had been trying with great difficulty to pry open these past several days in order to see what was happening to her husband. She gasped when she suddenly felt this part of the cage give a little under her the weight of her body.

But Spectra hadn't noticed the enchanted girl's last reaction, only her preceding words. She hissed through her incensed fangs, "Silence! Or I'll pay you with the same compliment!"

The dove shuddered and immediately cowered in fright.

With an evil, satisfied smile, Spectra replied, "That's better! Now, it's time to return to _our_ home!"

The shadow ghost immediately followed that comment up with making two new energy bubbles, which instantly enveloped the two cages. Spectra then lifted herself upward, pulling both cages in tow. She soared toward the area where she knew would contain several natural portals. She had to use them this time since both of her hands were full. Once she saw one, she plunged into it without hesitation, lugging the hapless encased ghost animals behind her.

* * *

Bertrand finally caught up with Danny just as the boy morphed into Phantom, became intangible, and violently shot himself upward. Spectra's assistant himself morphed into his human form as he got closer, pulling out the little pheromone-sucking machine out of his pocket and turned it on.

The shape-shifter poured on more speed then, trying to keep up with the fleeing Ghost Boy. He quickly glanced down at the instruments, never losing sight of the teen who was not too far away. He grinned and muttered, "Unbelievable, but perfect!" The readings were off the scale!

He immediately pushed the right button and aimed the machine at the boy ahead of him. It rattled violently, as if it couldn't contain its own delight over the amount of energy it was lapping up. Bertrand fretted with the machine's reaction and instinctively steadied it to keep it from jumping right out of his hands.

The vial cradled within the machine seemed to fill instantly. Bertrand, though surprised at this development, looked down at the vial and gasped at it in glee. Not only was its color the deepest violet that he had even seen—in fact it looked almost black to the shape-shifter—but it was also _glowing_. And then, Bertrand also noticed that the Ghost Boy inadvertently slowed down when his pheromones had been sucked away from him by the machine.

A hungry thought hit Bertrand and he devoured it. "Delicious!" he said as he pushed another button, delivering the contents to him by aerosol. As he eagerly breathed the entire glowing mist in and felt the energy rejuvenate him, he gushed, "I think I'll be in euphoria for months!" But noticing that he had slowed his speed when he had indulged himself, he quickly chided himself, "But, that doesn't mean I have to waste time! And, I do have to get more of it for Spectra!"

Bertrand quickly increased his speed, and narrowed his lag behind Danny. And just when he was satisfied that the gap between was sufficiently close enough, the older ghost pushed another button on the machine. As before, the vial filled almost as instantly.

And again, Danny unwittingly slowed down, feeling suddenly ill. But he concentrated and poured on more speed.

Bertrand gasped when he saw that and rapidly changed the vial as he tried to match Danny's speed. Once again, he was successful in both weakening Danny and obtaining more of the boy's precious commodity. But Danny rebounded once more and increased his pace.

Spectra's assistant wasn't about to let the boy get away and changed this second vial with another. He sneered in triumph when he saw the boy unconsciously slow as a direct result once more. Bertrand repeated the same technique a few more times, turning the machine on after a quick change and as soon as the vial was in place. Having success yet again, he was in the process of changing the vial again when Danny unexpectedly ripped a hole in the dimension and dove right in.

Bertrand stopped in mid-flight when the small portal instantly closed, barring his entry. But he was only chagrined for an instant. He had ten full vials for now. He muttered indignantly, "Just as well. I just wish I could carry more of these vials! But I could only carry so much and still carry the vial with de-ghostifying gas in it. Well, I'll just have to fix that, won't I? And I'm sure the Ghost Brat will eventually go back to his home like a good little boy, which will be even more delicious! It'll be like finding all the candy you want in its own little shop!"

He turned right around when he said that, heading toward the area where he could easily return to the Ghost Zone.

* * *

Tucker didn't get out of the bed the entire school day. He felt as if his arms and legs had melded into lead pipes and must have somehow slammed into his head. That would explain his headache. But, of course, the fact that he hadn't slept for practically the past several days, well really, a week and a half, would also explain it. After all, he really hadn't slept well since a couple of days before Valerie's birthday party. Nevertheless, he was determined to succeed this time. So what if he had already kept his eyes jammed shut all day, trying to force himself to sleep? It would work; he just had to give it more time. But then, he groaned. Why hadn't that worked?

All of the sudden, he yanked his eyes violently open when he heard the small rap on his bedroom door. That rap was followed by a gentle voice saying, "Honey? I have some lunch for you."

"No, thanks, Mom," he said, his voice cracking with exhaustion.

"But I made your favorite soup," she gently objected, as she quietly opened his door.

He groaned, but managed to say, "No, thanks, Mom. I'm not hungry."

"_What? He's __**still refusing**__ food?"_ his mother jolted with the thought. She placed the tray of food on his bureau, and instantly noticed that he had turned off all of his techno gear. She was just as stunned with that discovery as well. He had to be very, _very_ upset. She bit her lower lip, trying to decide on what to do. She then asked, "Is there anything I can do for you, Honey? Maybe I should take you to the doctor?"

"No, Mom! I'll be alright." But, of course, his tone of voice did not convince his mother. "I'll go to school tomorrow, OK?"

"OK, Tucker, if you think you'll be better by tomorrow. Could you at least take a bite of food and get some rest, then?" she asked worriedly.

"Sure, Mom," he replied, though she definitely knew by his tone that he wasn't going to do either.

She didn't say any more, and turned to go. She debated whether she should just turn around and tell him. But she quietly left his room, closed the door, and went back downstairs instead.

* * *

Meanwhile, Valerie, Armen and Al were the only victims of Spectra's perfect scheme who had made it to the school's rally. But, of course, the rally was as far from being a gala affair to them as would be bathing in lava pits.

While Valerie moped with each cheer, Armen and Al, some distance away from each one another, tried to melt into the bleachers. Even amidst the roar of the cheering crowd, each of them could still hear bits and pieces of even newer whispers now circulating throughout the school about their most recent shenanigans. If neither had wanted any trouble or attention before, their reputation they were building from their escapades would certainly guarantee no end of them now.

Al was particularly chagrined on how those ugly rumors had gotten started. And she was still upset on what happened to her this morning when she had momentarily gone psycho. She was at a total loss on just how she ended up with an angry Sam and confused Danny, without ever seeing either of them anytime before she 'woke up'. But what that goth girl said was such a lie! There was _no way_ she was interested in that Danny, even if she had every right to be still upset over the fact that his girlfriend was the 'playing-around' type.

'Playing-around type'. That would explain that newest incident between Sam and Armen at lunch!! That goth girl couldn't be trusted! And that must have been all her doing back then, not Armen's! But why couldn't that goth girl leave her guy alone? And what about poor Armen? Al blinked at the memory. Armen certainly didn't seem pleased at all when that Sam-person attacked him. Al blinked again. But, wait, didn't _he_ grab her? No, that couldn't be right! That girl had been the one behind it all! In fact, Armen really looked shocked and dazed during the entire time, she was sure of it. The blond-girl groaned. She sure had made a mess of things for Armen again. And with all this craziness, she now _really_ hated this school.

Armen, in the meantime, was getting more and more depressed about his situation. However, he still hadn't been sleeping well because of it, even if it had helped that he and Al had made up and nothing more had happened to him for the last few days after those first incidents a while back. It still bothered him that he couldn't remember even half of what had happened to him during all those incidents a while ago, but things seemed to have begun to calm down, when now, there was a repeat of it all today!

Plus, he was especially confused about all the frowns and finger-pointing that kept coming his way from kids he didn't know in the slightest. The snippets of conversation he did hear he couldn't understand, but he could tell by the participants' body language that they had been talking about him. He had to know what was being said of him, and what he did during all this unaccounted for time when he had somehow phased out of reality. Was he going crazy from all the stress of not only being new here, but also with all of this unwanted attention and worry? He hoped not.

Still, he was determined to ask the only person who had tried to help and understand him most of the time—Al—if he could find her, that is. And so far, he hadn't. But he didn't know, of course, that she had witnessed his cafeteria act with Sam at lunch. And, fortunately for him, she hadn't seen the last scene with him, Danny and Sam.

* * *

Finally, the excruciating assembly –and school--was over.

Valerie went straight home and straight to her bed, never once coming out to even let her father know that she was still on the planet. She wished with all her might that it would be the truth.

In the meantime, Armen finally spied Al among the crowd and made a beeline to her, pulling her behind one of the bleachers. He was glad when she didn't object. He turned to her and with pleading eyes, said, "Pleaze, Al, you, I mean, **I…I am **ver-ee, ver-ee sorr-ee. It happened to me again. The crazee stuff. I do not know wat happened. I do not know wat to do. I need help in dis-per-a-shun. I-I had no body to help me. Y- I am so not happy and so sorree."

Al was still upset, but she was more upset with herself. There was her own crazy moment this morning, for one, and then her unfair reaction to Armen when that Sam-person had attacked him in the cafeteria. Suddenly, she jolted at her next thought. And now, she was beginning to get the creeps. Too many weird things had happened in the past couple of weeks since Armen had showed up. But when she looked at him and saw how distraught…how abandoned he was, she somehow couldn't help but feel sorry for him. And besides, she could understand now where he was coming from, since she had just had her own unexplainable phase out. She frowned a little when she thought about all those three who were still involved in all of those crazy things in the past couple of weeks: that Danny, Sam and even Tucker. She just knew that they had somehow been responsible for all her current woes. Of course, she couldn't explain _anything_ that had happened with all of them, but that wasn't the point. She finally said, "OK, let's go somewhere better than this so we can talk."

"Tank m—you," he sighed as she took his hand and lead him to a more secluded part of the school grounds.

They sat down on the small bench they saw and Armen slowly piecemealed his anxious version of what had happened, and with his broken English, painfully revealed his helplessness through it all.

As the blonde girl listened, she couldn't deny how earnest his eyes were and that somehow he was telling the desperate truth. She just knew he was sincere. Still, she didn't get why he just wouldn't avoid that Sam-person all together. That would keep all of that craziness from happening.

Finally, after exhausting himself mentally from all the energy he was exerting trying to tell her how he was feeling—not to mention that he was already physically exhausted from his lack of sleep—_and _trying to keep himself from totally losing control-- Armen said, "Pleaze, Al, pleaze. I did not know what to do. I are—am--not lying! I do not try to do nothing wrong, but I-I can't explain it, except to say I had to be crazee! I so new here must be getting me crazee. But I do not want to be. Pleaze, bee-leeve me!"

The girl was silent for a while, and Armen shifted uncomfortably. He just knew that he had blown his plea just as surely as he had blown _everything _since he had come to this school. His shoulders slumped.

But then, Al slowly said, "Uhm, look, Armen. I have to say that I do believe you, because—and you're not going to believe this—but, I sorta went through the same crazy thing as you did. I did some weird stuff, too and I can't explain it, either. Maybe we caught some kind of bug?" She ended with a weak smile.

He didn't know what insects had to do with what had happened to him— and, apparently, to her--but he could tell by her smile that it was hopeful. He returned her smile with a weak one of his own. She didn't seem angry at all. He could tell by her eyes that she did believe him and was trying to understand. He sighed in relief and uttered, "Tank I, uhm, I mean, _you. Thank you _for being...you—my—friend. I go now. Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," she said with an encouraging smile. They got up from the bench and looked at each other again, each not certain on what to do. But, both of them were still very uncomfortable.

But then, Al awkwardly stuck out her right hand and once again said, "Tomorrow?"

He returned her handshake before gently pulling her to him in a much needed hug on both of their parts. He sighed and then replied, "Tomorrow!"

They quickly left and as they did, smiled underneath in relief, though they weren't totally satisfied. Still, they both felt that everything would work out in the end.

* * *

As Sam neared her house, she brushed away her tears. In some ways, she was kinda thankful that she had so much practice in keeping her emotions in check all these years. It was keeping her from totally losing it right now; and kept her groggy head sort of clearer. And she wasn't giving up that easily.

She veered away from her home. Gritting her teeth in determination, she headed to the first of their many hangouts. She knew her boyfriend was probably long gone, understandably using his powers to get as far away as he could from her right now. But she didn't care. She didn't know how yet, but she was going to either find him, or get through to him somehow--even if he was blocking their telepathetic link. She just knew she would.

She continued to search for him, meticulously checking all the places they and Tucker usually went. She wasn't surprised that he wasn't there, but she kept onward. She had called Tucker only once, and had gotten his mother instead. She knew that the way his mother explained it, Tucker was in no condition to talk to or see anyone. After asking her to tell Tucker that she had called, she asked the woman to promise to call her should Danny come, just in case. Mrs. Tucker agreed and Sam continued on her way.

She also checked her boyfriend's house at least a half-dozen times as she sought him out. She didn't really notice the growing bewildered looks of Danny's parents each time she appeared at their door looking for him, yet never explaining why she kept coming back. Luckily for her, Jazz had not been home during this time. She just couldn't handle having Danny's sister in a spazz over this right now.

Finally, after the last time Sam stopped at her boyfriend's house with no luck, she stopped in the nearby alley. She leaned against the cold wall and closed her eyes, concentrating. But after several moments, she realized that she still couldn't get through to him. And she just knew it was because he was so distressed.

She continued onward. But as her fatigue finally started to take its toll on her, her battle to stay off her emotions was waning and her head began to muddle. She could feel the creeping pressure in her stomach, throat and eyes. Finally, she came upon the park and could not fight herself any more.

She felt her tears spill over and as they slowly dragged her face down with them. She stopped at the nearest empty park bench and sat down. Seeing that the place was as abandoned as she felt, she immediately buried her face in her hands and bawled. She had never felt this distressed before. It was as if all her usual defenses that she used to keep her emotions at bay were suddenly shattered. And with those no longer there, all her hurt and fears, all her sorrows and anxieties came crashing down upon her at that moment. Suddenly, she felt totally overpowered by her emotions. But one of them gripped her heart tighter than all the others, and that was her fear of losing the best thing in her life. And when she was finally aware that that might now be a possibility, she bawled even harder.

After a few minutes, her pants slowed slightly. But she had not gained any more control of her emotions. With tears still streaking down her cheeks, and just before falling into her tears again, she yelled to the heavens with her whole heart and mind, _"__**Danny! Darling! Where are you?"**_

And her boyfriend suddenly interrupted his anxious flight when he heard her.


	32. Chapter 32 Mounting Doubt

**A/N: YAY! TGIF! Man, I wanted this week to end! Not that it went badly, but I'm just anxious to get this out to you; and I and the chappie just wasn't ready yet! But NOW I am and NOW it is! YAY! Gee, how can I be so happy, how can I be so callous, when I just know how much angst is still in store for the gang? Just crazy, I guess….but then again, y'all ALL knew that, already! So, let's get on with the happy little sadness that's in Chapter 32. Ahem…need to get serious…Oh, yeah…Don't forget the IDNOAC thing and don't be shy about throwing your thoughts at me. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 32—Mounting Doubt

The instant Danny heard his girlfriend's mental cry, he startled and instantly halted in mid-flight. He quickly tried to shake off the echoing it left in his mind, but couldn't. Her anguished call had been so intense that he just knew he had felt her actual _soul_ cry out for him; and with that realization, he felt his pained, burning heart skip a beat.

But, it didn't matter. He was all twisted up inside, with a million thoughts and emotions hounding him all at once. And all of them were because of what Sam did. He couldn't sort them out, especially when he couldn't even begin to understand anything about what had happened. One thing he was sure of, though. He was definitely still hurting over what she did. But now, he couldn't help but feel worried about her when he felt her cry. Still again, he suddenly felt annoyed with that.

It didn't help that he still had that same headache that had plagued him all day from lack of sleep; though for some reason, it now seemed to pound with each throb of his heartache. However, there was more to his headache, fatigue, and heartache. Something very odd. He felt weak, strangely weak. He had never felt like this before. _This_ kind of weakness was different...

Even so, he didn't want to think about how ill he felt anymore. He didn't have the mental energy to dwell on it. Besides, he supposed it must be all in his head. Maybe feeling a little awful physically just had to do with his headache…and his sick heart.…But, of course, he didn't know that it had to do with Bertrand's siphoning off his ghostly pheromones and slowly sapping him of his strength.

So, ultimately, Danny could only try to ignore his sick feeling. Not that he really could dwell on that at this point anyhow, because all those anguished thoughts about Sam just bombarded him all over again….Like her unquestionable distress she had relayed to him when she had mentally called to him, and which even now still faintly echoed within him. Worry instinctually stirred once again within him with that thought….But then, a wave of pain pounded his head. Wait! She couldn't be distressed! She had purposely hurt him!

The sting of betrayal returned again, and he suddenly grew angry. _That_ is _exactly_ how he should be feeling right now, not anything else; and then he could feel his headache unexpectedly worsen…He shouldn't be feeling an ounce of worry for her! She didn't even deserve the benefit of a doubt, let alone his trust! The boy felt so betrayed that he didn't want to see her or attempt to talk things through. But, ultimately, no matter how much he wanted to consume himself with anger, he could not. Another feeling, deeper than emotion, wouldn't let him. In fact, even when he tried to ignore that powerful feeling, it made him feel a little guilty. He didn't understand that, but he did feel his headache ease up a bit along with his anger.

Still, it wasn't his fault, he didn't think. Then, what did it all mean, if she was looking for him?

"_If finding me is so important to her all of the sudden, then why did she lie to me in the first place?"_ he asked himself_. "What did I do to her to make her do what she did to me? _He paused, suddenly wondering about Sam's telepathic call_, "And why hasn't she said anything else?"_

He became discouraged with that thought. His tired mind must have imagined her calling after all. He immediately felt depressed after that discouragement, and it was all that _another_ emotion needed to sneak back in. Hurt then took full advantage of spreading over his heart and mind. He was so upset and hurt, he really didn't care at this point if she would even try to reach him anymore.

But, of course, neither Danny nor Sam had known that she had been successful in connecting with him telepathically. She had mentally called out to him in sheer desperation. But because of her own distress, and because she had not been able to reach him the entire time she had been looking for him, she didn't think she would finally be able to get through to him and did not recognize that she had.

Still, in spite of his hurt, Danny couldn't get everything out of his mind. What made Sam do that? He quickly ran through the scene in his head again, stopping at 'the kiss'. He cringed at the memory, but immediately rejected the thought that now surfaced. Was his girlfriend mad at him and now getting back at him? But, she wouldn't 'get back' at him. Yeah, she would give him a piece of her mind if she were angry at him, but she would do it right way and that would be the end of it. She wasn't the 'revenge-seeking' type. He shook his head. Then, all of this didn't make any sense AT ALL!

He searched his exhausted mind once more as he resumed his flight, slowing it enough to try to remember this time how Sam looked and acted during the entire encounter, and immediately afterward. He bit his lip in hope. She had looked a little dazed, as if she were….were being _overshadowed_! And come to think of it, that new kid had the _very same look_! But that was impossible! His ghost sense would have alerted him of that. He would have instantly known. And he would have known if a ghost had even been around before—and after—the overshadowing…if he—or she—were around. He frowned in frustration. Then, that _wasn't_ the answer. But this whole thing wasn't right, right?

No, it wasn't. Sam's behavior had been slowly becoming more erratic ever since…that **new **boy came to school! Was that it, then? Maybe she was more attracted to that guy after all and she was afraid to tell him? This time, he slowed his pace, more depressed at that thought. Was she having second thoughts about their relationship? Had he somehow made her unhappy? He hadn't thought so, but then he thought about Tucker…and Valerie! Sam _was_ unhappy that he had made her apologize to Tucker. And being nice to Valerie really killed her. But was that a good enough reason for her to cheat and lie? No! That didn't sound like Sam at all!

Then another, more plausible reason came into his mind again. She had to be attracted to Armen; but was afraid to hurt him by telling him. So, she rather 'tell' him the news by hurting him? That still made no sense. But then again, this 'relationship stuff' was still a work-in-progress for both of them; and neither of them was perfect. Still, there were things to be expected, things that expected a willingness on both of their parts to be….open. He stopped with that thought. He had to admit that Sam did have trouble with that. Maybe she didn't know how to tell him.

But there was more. He thought he could depend on how they felt about each other to keep their relationship honest and true-hearted. At least he had done his best to be that. And he thought Sam had done her best, too, even if she had a hard time about being honest with her feelings. It never bothered him before. But now, the truth was suddenly there. She cheated and she lied. And she blocked him mentally from trying to find that out or even understand why. She had not been honest about telling him that she was attracted to Armen.

Danny's face fell with that thought. And even though he didn't like it, the truth was still there….that she must want to break up with him. Well, then, if that was the case, since Sam probably wouldn't come out with it, _he_ would just have to. After all, they were still young and weren't married or near anything like that….He paused and swallowed hard with that thought…Sure, he had pondered about the subject in a nebulous kinda way before. And Sam and he had the same outlook about it. But now that he thought of it in an entirely different light, he felt his heart burn. It didn't matter that they were still young. They were almost seventeen—well, sorta. Almost. And they had gone through so much together, had gotten so close. At least, he thought so. Yes, they were still too young to be thinking of something…_so_ _serious_. But that didn't mean they couldn't love each other with the same intensity as those other couples _who were_ old enough to take the next permanent step and commitment. Sure, they knew that they would have to wait until then, but that didn't mean their love—_his_ love—was less intense.

That thought suddenly made things clearer for him. He knew his heart had been burning in hurt. And that he couldn't stay angry. But that was because he loved her… But she knew that, too, since he had told her many times. But she…she was never that open about it. Now that bothered him even more. Maybe she hadn't felt the same way after all. But what about all those times they had shared their thoughts? She seemed so sincere, _so open_, so comfortable. Now, he wasn't so sure. He jolted at the next possibility. Maybe she was blocking her real feelings all along, like she was so good at doing before they became a couple! Maybe she had felt pressured to date him, caught up with the emotions of the whole 'disasteroid' incident.

And maybe now she had second thoughts about it all. That happened to friends sometimes: sometimes, they couldn't make the jump from friends to couple. And _that_ could explain her odd behavior. By why now—and why _so_ sudden—with no hint of any problems in all this time they had been dating? But then, he thought about their problems over Libro not too long ago. Maybe that was just the beginning? But, he thought they were way over that? What could be the explanation then? He bit his lower lip when his mind told him the answer: and that it was because Sam must have been _so good at hiding_ all her feelings after all.

He still was not satisfied. Sam's behavior was _too_ odd, _too_ sudden. But what other explanation could it possibly be? Unless she had grown unhappy with him and was afraid to tell him? That might be it. He swallowed hard and slowed down with the realization.

"_She often hinted that she was so was afraid of me getting bored with her…that she never wanted to fall into habit or routine. I never thought of her like that, and didn't think that was possible. Still, she really does hate ruts. But I didn't think we __**were in**__ any ruts…And can couples get in ruts? I guess they can…but how?" _He searched his mind, trying to come up with an answer to anything. _"Maybe if they don't care enough or aren't willing to work through their problems? Would that be it?…But I thought we were willing to work things through! We have done it before, why can't we now? ...And besides, I really didn't think we were having any problems…until these past few weeks. But why?" _

He didn't have an answer to that. But then, the next thought clamped down on his heart. It didn't matter why. Maybe she didn't know, either. Maybe she just didn't know anything but that she was somehow unhappy with him. And that was that. But his heart was still not satisfied, even when it knew the answer. He knew he loved her enough to let her go if she was unhappy with him. He still didn't know _how_ he had made her unhappy. But if being apart would make her happy, then that's the way it had to be. That thought didn't make him feel any better, but he would do this if she wanted.

He breathed a heavy sigh with his heavy heart. But he still was confused about it all. Nevertheless, he bit his lip in sudden determination. OK. But if she wanted him to let her go, he had to know why…

Again, that didn't make him feel better, but it did help clear his mind. And he suddenly felt exhausted and weak. He turned himself tightly around and stopped to survey this part of the Ghost Zone. It only took a moment and he knew where he had to go. He headed back, mentally calculating where his house should be. He slowed as he approached the right area. He rechecked his reference points and inched closer to where he estimated was the right place. He produced his wulf claws, rent a hole in the dimension, and entered the jagged portal, ending up right in his bedroom, just as he calculated.

He smiled weakly at the small triumph. At least he could be sure of that, even though he couldn't be sure of him and Sam at this point.

Sam woke with as start, shivering. Why was she so cold? She looked around, confused by the darkness which surrounded her. She shot up to a stand with a gasp, only to realize by the crunching snow under her feet that she had fallen asleep on the park bench. She looked at her watch and shivered once more. **Eleven o'clock?** She had been here for _hours_? Her parents were going to kill her!

She dashed off and got to her home in no time. She quietly opened her front door and met…her grandmother.

"Bubele?" the old woman asked with a frown of disappointment. At first, there was a twinkle in her eye behind that frown. But that twinkle, which was usually there when her granddaughter did such unconventional things as coming home late like this, instantly changed to worry when she saw her granddaughter's face when she came in. This was totally different. The old woman could tell in a heartbeat that her granddaughter was not in her usual state of mind when being this late had happened in the past.

Sam was usually awhirl whenever she would come home late, but it usually from excitement, as if her granddaughter was off on a constant adventure. It all started, her grandmother reckoned, more than a year ago, when Sam was in her freshman year. That was when she made it a point to hang out with her two best friends, who happened to be boys, more often than not. Not that her grandmother worried about that—though her parents, of course, did. Grandmother Manson trusted her granddaughter to do the right thing, and she had a sense that Danny and Tucker were just as trustworthy. And now that Sam was dating Danny, it seemed to the old woman that her granddaughter seemed less edgy, even more affectionate and content. Sam still wasn't totally open about it, but Sam's grandma was certain about it. The old woman smiled. She knew she liked Danny, but now she realized how special he must truly be to cause this kind of good change in Sam.

But now, this kind of 'excitement' her granddaughter had brought home tonight was very different. Something was wrong, and she knew that Sam was obviously upset.

The old woman paused a moment as Sam stepped in and closed the door.

When the girl turned back to her grandmother without saying a word, Grandma Mason dryly said, "Cold night air gives you pimples."

"What?" Sam said, pulling off her jacket and quickly hanging it up. Did her grandmother just say her millionth weird comment?

"I said, cold night air, especially after ten o'clock, gives you zits."

Sam got the hint and said, "Sorry I'm late. I fell asleep in the park."

Now her grandmother's eyebrow rose in surprise. That was very odd, indeed. She then said, "Well, let's get some hot chocolate and talk about it. Your parents won't be back until midnight. They went out to dinner and a symphony way before you were due home for dinner."

Sam heaved a silent sigh of relief. At least her parents didn't know she had been late. And she didn't question her grandmother as she followed behind her scooter. Hot chocolate sounded perfect and she did need someone to hear her out right now.

Finally, they were sitting and sipping in silence.

Sam could just feel the curiosity rising from the hot steam of her grandmother's mug, but the old woman kept mute.

"Grandma?" the girl said at last.

"Yes, Dearie?"

'What can I do…er, I mean, what does someone do when they're accused of lying or doing something I…uhm, _they_ didn't do even if looks like they did do it?"

Her grandmother blinked a moment and then something clicked. Her granddaughter was using their 'code' talk again, the one she used when she was having a hard time coming right out with it. She rolled with it. "You mean, if someone was accidentally framed, like Grandpa Manson had been?"

"Yes!" Sam said a little too loudly, startling her grandmother a little with the seemingly verbal assault. But reminding her about the time that Grandma had falsely accused her grandfather of cheating on her helped everything click with the goth girl.

"Sorry!" Sam said with an apologetic frown. "But, it's just that I couldn't figure that out until you said that, and that's exactly what I mean. Only, I can't explain how I, er, they were framed-or even _if_ they were. But what happened is kinda the same."

"Well, that is very difficult, indeed. And the evidence is overwhelming for that, uhm, person?"

"Totally!"

"But that…person is innocent, you say?"

"Totally!"

"Hmm…that is a dilemma," the old woman began, lightly rapping her fingers on her chin. She took another sip of her hot chocolate and then added, "Do 'they' have anyone who believes them? Who knows 'they' would be innocent?"

Sam immediately thought about Danny and Tucker. But mostly about Danny, of course. Her lips sagged downward a little as she replied, "At first, 'they' did, but not really anymore. But that's the real problem. The person 'they' trust the most is the one who believes that that person is guilty, though, in reality, that person was somehow and kinda framed."

"I see," her grandmother slowly said, pondering. "Then, I guess, there's only one thing 'they' can do!"

"What's that, Grandma?" Sam asked. Her heart was leaping with such hope, she hadn't realized how excited her voice sounded when she blurted that out. And she just _knew _her grandmother would be able to help her.

"Do your own investigating. There's got to be evidence to counter the fake ones… And try to convince the one whom you trusted to believe in you again. And if I know **him**, I'm sure he will."

Her grandmother then grabbed her mug and put it in the sink without another word. But she was surprised when Sam came up behind her and affectionately kissed her on the cheek. Not that she hadn't done that before, but she was doing it more regularly. However, the old woman didn't say a thing about it and quickly exited the room on her scooter, hoping that Sam didn't see the large grin on her face.

Sam smiled weakly after watching her grandmother leave, silently thanking her. She felt better, but suddenly grew nervous. Still, she brushed it away, nodding in her firm decision. She was now certain that she was being falsely accused. Well, that, or, it was something as simple as her telepathic powers going crazy. Either way, then, that was it! Tomorrow, she was going to lay it out to Danny. She cared too much to lose him—ever!

She would do whatever it would take to win back his trust.


	33. Chapter 33 Questionable Progress

**A/N: So, how ya been? I hope you've had a great week, even though I know it's been finals' angst this week for a lot of ya! Still, it IS Friday and y'all should take a break from cramming your eyeballs out and look this chappie over! But, I hope it will not make you want to go back to studying! No matter how it makes you feel, feel free to tell me, 'cause I absolutely LOVE your thoughts! But how can I get your reaction if I keep delaying you from reading this? Well, then, here comes Chapter 33 and the IDNOAC thing. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 33—Questionable Progress

Sam hurried to get ready for school. She was so nervous, she hadn't been able to sleep that much last night and couldn't even think of having any breakfast right now. She felt it was best if she met Danny right at his house rather than halfway between their homes like they usually did.

She sloppily threw the things she needed for school into her backpack and slung it hastily over her shoulders. Finally, she whipped her coat on and zipped it up as she ran out the front entrance of her house, not even taking the time to say good-bye to her family. Not that she didn't care; she just couldn't help herself. She had only one thought burning in her mind…and that was that she hoped Danny would give her a chance to talk to him.

But she had no way of knowing that her boyfriend had never gotten much sleep last night, either. Or that he could barely drag himself out of bed. He was still upset, of course, but he was also not feeling well, all because he had quite a bit of his ghostly pheromones siphoned off by Bertrand. That was not only making him barely able to function now that his body was half-awake, but weighed his mind down with more misery.

Finally, Sam was there in front of her boyfriend's home, sighing in slight relief when she looked at her watch. She had gotten there in plenty of time. She walked up to the door and found herself hesitating. Would she be able to convince him? She threw that worry away and knocked on the door.

Jazz answered it. Not only was she surprised to see Sam here this early, but she was also a little alarmed on how the goth girl looked. She had never seen Sam look this disheveled before. Nevertheless, the red-head successfully hid her nervousness with her slightly surprised tone of voice. "Sam? You're here? Now? At this time?"

Sam was suddenly aware of Jazz's edginess. The goth girl didn't know why, since Jazz didn't seem outwardly nervous. But she threw that thought out and, instead, dryly replied, "Yeah, you know me…Hate to be totally predictable. Mind if I wait for Danny in here?"

"Uh, sure. I'm sure he won't mind," Jazz casually answered, slightly clenching her jaw, determined not to let Sam see her apprehension.

Sam then looked right at Jazz and frowned, once again wondering why Jazz was so nervous. Then it hit her. Jazz must know something.

And Sam was right.

Jazz had seen Danny not too long after he had gotten home last night. He had alluded in his own way that something wasn't right, which was very easy for his sister to see, since he looked awful and he was so bad at hiding those kinds of things. Jazz, of course, had mentioned his change and though he had let her know that he didn't totally like her butting in, he was feeling more at ease to talk to her about things that bothered him. He hadn't gone into too much detail, as usual, but Jazz was certain that he was having more difficulty, more _serious _difficulty with Sam than the last time, which, of course, had to do with Libro. But this time, Jazz knew it was different. She, too, had heard all those ugly rumors at school, but had flipped them off…until Danny had talked to her last night. Still, she didn't understand why Sam was doing this. It was _so unlike_ her. There had to be some kind of explanation…but what?

Finally, Jazz said, "He should be ready soon. He's still in the kitchen."

"OK, thanks, Jazz…and, uhm, thanks, you know, for not mentioning anything about our problems," Sam quietly blurted out. But she hadn't said that with any intention to accuse the older girl for butting into her business, but in relief that Jazz wasn't going to ream her out or something like that.

Jazz jolted in surprise at her friend. How did she know what was on her mind?

But Sam _didn't _know—exactly. She was just becoming more aware of the fact that lately she was beginning to get very good at 'reading' other people—if she paid attention to them, that is. Like now. She could tell that Jazz knew something about her and Danny's 'disagreement'. Just how much, she wasn't certain, but if she knew Danny…..Danny! She jolted at her sudden thought. She _did_ know him and now she was certain that he would let her talk to him and _would_ believe her!

"Uh, s-sure, sure, Sam," Jazz stammered, now uncertain on what to say since it was obvious that Sam had seen through her ruse. "Well, I got to finish getting ready myself. See you at school."

"Sure, Jazz," Sam said and continued to stand near the front door. She looked down at the floor, suddenly getting nervous again. How was she going to convince her boyfriend that she had been framed—or that maybe her telepathic powers were going crazy—and that was the reason for all that had happened? But before she could search her mind more, she heard familiar footsteps, and looked up and toward the direction from which they were coming.

When Danny came out from the kitchen to the front room and entrance to his home, he stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes met Sam's. He hadn't expected her, and in his fatigue, could not guard himself emotionally. They stood there, feeling like they could just fall into the other's eyes, but they fell short of that. Still, in that instant, they just knew each other's hearts—Danny's wanting to know why she had hurt him and why she didn't want him anymore, and Sam's determination to make him understand and believe in her. And even still, there was an underlying hope, an inkling of assurance that they both wanted to somehow get through this.

Danny cleared his throat in embarrassment as he broke their mesmerizing gaze. "Uhm, hi, Sam. Uhm…"

She jumped right in, "Uhm, I just thought that maybe we could sorta have a walk by ourselves before we met up with Tucker. I mean, if it's all right with you."

"Sure," he automatically said, and quickly got his things together as Sam silently watched on. They walked out the door together, but neither felt it was the right time to hold hands.

They walked side-by-side in silence at first, both burning to say exactly what was on each of their minds, and both kind of hoping the other would go first.

But before either of them could say something, there was a loud crash right next to where they were just passing…..

* * *

Sarah looked over to the cage right next to her, which contained her husband, searching for signs that he had recovered. But he didn't stir. How long had he been out? A few hours?

Suddenly, she heard a noise and she crouched down. Spectra and Bertrand were coming out of the lab. She could clearly hear their conversation.

"You better be glad that I had gathered up more flowers this time, or else, we would have had to wait for a few days for me to go to Pandora's Maze, get more of them, and then finally concoct some more of the aura masking juice that you unnecessarily wasted back at the brat's school," Bertrand said indignantly, showing her the two precious vials he had left. One was full, and one was only a quarter full.

Spectra yawned in annoyance before replying, "Spare me the boring details, Bertrand. I'm just happy that we have more of the stuff. But, ooh, when you do have to go to Pandora's Maze, could you get some more of that sweet water from her Fountain of Youth? I have a yen for that exotic dessert!"

The left side of Bertrand's nose flared up and his left eye twitched now that he was perturbed when she hadn't fully listened to him—again! He sarcastically said, "And it'll remain that—rare and exotic—as long as I can help it, Penelope! Especially when that Ghost Kid's pheromones are all we need now."

One of her eyebrows rose and a side of her mouth fell in irritation at his refusal. Spectra, nevertheless, wouldn't be put into a bad mood. After all, she could also taste her sweet victory over Danny. She suddenly gushed, "And I'm getting more and more excited, now that I know we have almost accomplished what we have planned for that Fenton Brat!"

They walked closer to their prisoners and Sarah hunched down further in her cage.

"I think it's already worked. Just look at the quality of that Fenton Kid's samples," Bertrand countered, placing the vials holding the concentrated ghost-masking mist between the two cages while pulling out one of the glowing vials from one of the pouches he had hanging on his side.

Sarah braved lifting her head a little and looked at the two vials that was so close to her she could touch them, then diverting her gaze toward the vials that the evil assistant beheld high enough for her to clearly see. She stifled her gasp at their powerful glow. Then she startled at her next thought. On what that evil assistant had said…She knew that _name_, the one that they kept mentioning. She searched her memory and then she was certain that name was the last name of that boy whom the evil ghosts were so interested in. She concentrated again, trying to remember the boy's first name. They had been talking about…Danny? But, what could that mean? And what were in those glowing vials that the ghosts were so interested in obtaining? She listened in more intensely.

"Ohh, giveme!" the shadow ghost demanded, reflexively reaching out to the glowing dark vial. But she hesitated when she was near enough to grab the vial. "Don't want to waste it, since, like you said, they aren't my pheromones. Uh, so how about you give it to me—ya know--doing what you're supposed to do with the machine?"

He frowned, but quickly pulled out the little machine and promptly gave an aerosol dose to Spectra.

"Ahhhh," she cooed, but then hungrily growled, "_All_ of it!"

Again, he obliged her and emptied the vial until it satisfied her. He then said, "You do realize that you probably won't need another dose for a least a year or more?"

"Really? How delicious! But then, we must get more of those pheromones, Bertrand! I want enough to last eternity! Danny's relationship might be on stormy waters, but it hasn't sunk yet. And I want to make sure it's driven right to the bottom!"

She paused at her next thought and then added, "That is, of course, I don't run into anymore snags…"

"What do you mean, Penelope?" Bertrand asked, growing concerned now that she had expressed some doubt in their future plans.

"An odd thing happened. When I tried to overshadow Danny's girl, what's-her-name…"

"Sam Manson," he interjected.

Sarah shuddered. She also knew _that_ name!

"Yeah, that's right. When I tried, I got a jolt I haven't ever felt before. It was very strange."

Bertrand rolled his eyes, "Maybe you were just having a ghost brain hiccup. It happens to everyone occasionally."

"It does?" she asked sincerely, frowning with sudden worry. But she then rolled her eyes, throwing that feeling away, while her voice mirrored her dismissive attitude, "I had never heard of that. Oh, well, I don't need to worry about that, then. It was just a nuisance, since I did succeed in the end." She looked at the vial full of glowing, almost black, pheromones again and unconsciously licked her lips as she purred, "And from how those samples look, the best is yet to come. And even more…"

"Yes, but I think…," the shape shifter began.

But Spectra sternly interrupted him, "I know what you think, Bertrand! But it's not just the samples I want. I want that boy's strength completely depleted, and his power destroyed, so that he won't ever interfere with any of our future plans anymore! That way, getting our further meals of misery will be like having an eternal feast instead of being in a famine like we have been in most of the time."

Bertrand smiled wickedly. He had forgotten about that little detail. He piped in, "I agree, and we might be able to bring him to an inch of _both_ of his lives when we do!"

"Or, even _permanently_ over the edge of that inch, which will eventually come, and would be even more delicious," Spectra snickered, her eyes narrowing with her dark thought.

Sarah's eyes widened when she heard that. Derek and she had been instrumental in not only hurting so many innocent young humans, but now they would also be abettors to that boy Danny's possible demise?! But how could that be? She had thought that all that the Spectra ghost had wanted was to end his relationship with his girl and that was all. What power could that human boy possibly possess that they would seek his destruction? She shuddered in fear at the thought.

And now, she was even more worried when she thought about what else they had said. Who was this 'Ghost Kid' they had mentioned earlier? Somehow, she didn't think that was good news, either. She searched her mind…She did not recall another ghost's being involved in all of this. But, of course, she had been under the potion's power at one point and since she could remember practically none of what happened, she wasn't certain. Even when she had been aware of what she was doing later, she didn't remember any other ghost except those two and her husband. Maybe, then, it was when she had been under the potion's power this 'Ghost Kid' to whom they were referring had come into play.

She shook her head in doubt. She still didn't understand all that. But she felt that these two evil ghosts' words were _not_ threats; they were _real_. She could not bear the thought of any human being in mortal danger because of her, and she began to silently whimper.

But her thoughts were interrupted by Bertrand's remark. "Then, I guess we should go to work."

Spectra smiled wickedly. "Glad you see the point. After all, you benefit from this as much as me. In the meanwhile, let's take it easy until tomorrow. I want to make sure the whole world knows that Danny and his girl's relationship will be out for the final count."

But suddenly, Derek stirred in his cage a little, and the movement of his body caused the tawny-colored vials that were between the cages to vibrate, before they began to roll off the table.

Sarah gasped when she saw that and Bertrand noticed both the ghost dove's reaction and the vials' movement. He gasped at the sight as well.

He lunged for the vials, grabbing one, but missing the other. The uncaught vial smashed to the floor, releasing the powerful amber aura-masking gas, which immediately bellowed into in a potent yellow cloud, and just as quickly enveloped Sarah, Derek and Bertrand.

Sarah and Bertrand coughed on the gas. Derek didn't, but that didn't mean he wasn't affected by the concoction, as all three of the ghosts' signature auras were snuffed out.

"Now…look what…happened!" Bertrand moaned through his coughs.

"Well, what are you crying for? That's what you get when you're careless!" Spectra said, her tone not unlike a teacher chiding her student.

Bertrand growled, "But it was the _full_ vial that broke! And that means we'll have less of the stuff to use if we need it! Still, it's not a total loss. The effects of that concentration will last about ten times as long as the small doses I had been putting on us in order to spare its use."

"Well, then, why blubber about it? That'll just mean you can carry even more vials to suck up the Ghost Boy's energy!"

Bertrand growled again, but he had to agree with her. He would be able to carry more empty vials now that he didn't have to take and protect the masking gas vials. He finally said, "OK, I'm going to get going so I can get more containers. I'll meet you first thing tomorrow, then."

"Of course," Spectra said with a smile, as she headed to her back room, leaving Bertrand and her prisoners behind.

The ghost dove continued to cautiously and silently observe the shape shifter as he reinspected the vials. She didn't like how evilly he smiled when he admired them once more before carefully replacing the glowing vial into the pouch. She tracked his movements as he headed back to the lab to deposit the pouch of filled vials there. He came back in no time and Sarah once again watched until Bertrand had left the lair.

After a few minutes of quiet, Sarah came to the conclusion that Spectra must have retired for the night. She then clenched her beak in determination. She would no longer be willing to do anything for these despicable ghosts--even if it meant her own destruction. So, she and Derek had to escape _tonight_!

She pulled the pieces of bedding which hid the small hole at the bottom of her cage. She smiled in encouragement when the hole had gotten slightly bigger when she had pressed against it earlier. But her face grew more serious almost as sudden. She pushed against the hole again, but it didn't budge any more. Still, she was not discouraged and began to work on the bars with her beak.

After a few minutes, she heard a strange noise and sighed in relief when she knew it came from her husband's cage. He was groaning.

"Darling?" she quickly whispered. "Are you alright? We have much to do!"

"Uh, I think I have recovered, Wife," he slowly said, and then when his head cleared, he added, "What do you mean that 'we have much to do'?"

She quickly and quietly explained the situation and her anxiety over the whole thing, in between her efforts to pry the bars open. "We must help that human couple, Danny and Sam. And the others, too!"

But her husband would not answer her.

"Derek, did you not hear me?" she anxiously asked.

"Yes, I did, Sarah. But we have done enough. If we can escape, we will never come to this part of the Ghost Zone—or to the Real World--again."

She didn't comment. She knew she didn't have the time to convince him right now. She needed to concentrate on getting out of here.

They didn't speak again as she silently and frantically pecked at the bars. Sometimes, she would push her body against the hole, encouraged when that helped.

Finally, after what seemed like days of struggle, and just a few hours before daybreak in the Real World, Sarah felt she had pried the bars enough to squeeze through. She put her head through and slowly and carefully pressed herself between the twisted bars. She winced a little when one of the bars' sharp barbs scratched her left wing, but she successfully bit back her urge to scream. She was finally successful in shimming completely through the hole, and hurried in silent anticipation to her husband's cage as fast as she dared.

Derek knew immediately that his wife was free when he heard the quiet flutter of her wings approaching him. He stood up just as she used her feet to attach herself to the cage's bars immediately above the lock of his cage. He remained mute, concentrating on picking up any unusual noise other than what her beak made as it worked to yank at the pin-like latch from the circular bolt in which it was wedged.

As she pulled with all her might with her beak, it was soon apparent to the young bird that it was in vain. She let go, panting a little, but she didn't give up yet. This time, she dropped down onto the pin-like latch itself and grabbed it with both of her feet. Then using the power of her wings to draw herself and the latch upward, she yanked on it again. After several attempts at this strategy, with little rest between each try, the pin finally moved! After a few more concerted efforts, the pin finally slipped out of its hole and her husband was free!

He pushed the cage open with his head and Sarah immediately fell exhausted at his feet.

"Have I ever told you how brave and strong you are?" he said with a touch of pride in his lowered voice as he gently nuzzled her.

"All the time," she quietly remarked with a soft laugh, as she nuzzled him back. "And you know I feel the same way about you!" she softly added with a weak smile.

"Come, Dearest, we have overstayed our welcome!" he whispered with a slight smirk, relieved to be free.

She smiled and flitted up to the top of his head again. As soon as he felt the pressure of her body upon him, he propelled himself upward and headed to the nearest ready exit, which he had already seen many times. He knew exactly where to go. Without hesitating, he swiftly entered the little room where he and his wife's cages were usually kept, but hadn't been placed tonight. He and his wife leapt at the window that had been left carelessly ajar, pushing it completely open as they exited it.

He headed as quickly as he could far, far away from there.

And as the young couple hurried forward, each of them unconsciously glanced back over his or her shoulder every once in a while. They silently prayed that they would cover a lot of ground before they would be discovered missing.

But that possibility did not seem to be...

* * *

Spectra had not been able to get any rest after her near victory. She was just too excited. She left her room, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to meet with Bertrand with plenty of time to spare. She just couldn't wait to get the goods and get that Ghost Boy once and for all. She slowly floated toward the front room of her lair. As she entered the still-darkened room that held the ghost animals, she inadvertently glanced toward their cages and spied something awry on the floor. She went over to investigate and gasped.

It was the pin to the latch! She quickly inspected the cages. They had escaped! She floated over to the door and seeing it was still closed and locked, knew that they could not have left that way. Then she thought of the only window that was nearest to this area. She flew over to the little room where she usually had kept her prisoners. Her eyes anxiously locked onto the tiny window, and frowned when she saw it was open and slightly rocking on its hinges. How could they have opened it? But she didn't care. They must have used it in their escape all the same.

She flew back over to the room where their cages were and quickly inspected each cage. She then saw the twisted bars in the small bird cage. One of them easily bent under her strength. How could this have happened? Surely, that little bird couldn't have had this much strength to even begin to pry the bars away, much less work on or finish the task. The enchanted ghost must have struggled with them and taken a great deal of time to do it, not only with the effort, but to do it in silence. That meant that they may not have escaped too long ago.

Her next thought was to go after them. But then, she had a better idea…She hurried toward Bertrand's lair. _He_ would have to go after them.


	34. Chapter 34 A Loss for a Gain

**A/N: Hey, there, y'all! How is everything? And you know what today is! Time for an update! And, of course, I hope you like it! More trouble is afoot and I'm afraid that things are just going to get hairier. So, without much more blather-since really, I can't think of anything else to blather about (that's a first!)-it's time for Chapter 34. Don't forget the IDNOAC thing. And, of course, Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 34-A Loss for a Gain

Bertrand groaned himself awake at the loud banging on his door. He, of course, knew that it was Spectra. He made a concerted effort to open his eyes and looked at his clock. But why was she here so early?

He slowly got up, but he hadn't even reached his front door when the shadow ghost barged in.

"Bertrand, they've escaped!" Spectra immediately and breathlessly uttered.

"Who?" he groggily asked, slowly stretching his arms up over his arms.

"The ghost animals!"

He snapped fully awake with the news. "How?"

"The little bird brain figured out how to pry a hole out of her cage! How that happened, I just don't know. This is your fault, you know! You said that the cage was escape-proof!"

"But it was…Hmmm…something must have weakened the bars."

Spectra then cringed. She had a sudden hunch on how that might have happened. "Well, I did shoot at the ghost bird through her cage a while ago. Do you think my energy rays weakened the bars when I had attacked her?"

"That would explain it. But it doesn't matter, now," he replied with a yawn.

The shadow ghost scowled before hissing, "Yes it does! Those two were vital to our final plans! Now, what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing," he casually replied before rubbing his eyes.

"What do you mean 'nothing'?" she growled, her eyes flaring a bit.

"Well, they probably are long gone by now," he pointed out, stifling another yawn.

"But it couldn't have been too long ago!" she countered.

This time, he narrowed his eyes in grumpy irritation. "How do you know that?" he countered back.

She growled and started charging up her energy beams.

But he knew he had her on that one. "C'mon, Spectra, you don't know! Besides, we don't really need them anymore! They had proven to be really useless in the end; and it was too much work to keep them under control, especially that wildcat. Besides, there was the complication on what to do with them after we had accomplished our plans. We just couldn't let them go. So, it just as well that they're gone. Still, I don't think they want to come back here ever again. Just as well that they're gone, then; and it's no loss to us that they won't be back, especially since I think we can carry out the rest of our plans by ourselves.

Spectra frowned in dissatisfaction. But she knew he was right. Yet, she didn't want to give into him. With a pout on her face, she manipulatively softened her eyes and pleaded in a sickeningly sweet voice, "But they were important to _our_ plans, Bertrand. And _we _want to make sure _our_ plans succeed; and _our_ plans won't work unless _we_ get those two little miserable ghost animals back. Couldn't you find it within you to get them, just for _us_?" She ended that plea with a light stroke of her finger down his cheek.

He was stunned, yet delighted, with her change. He had always hoped that she would see how he felt about her, and that they were a 'we' and not a 'me-you' couple. That was all he needed. He smiled and replied with a slight whine, "Oh, OK! If it'll make you feel better, I'll go after the ghost animals. But I can't guarantee that the lynx will come back unscathed. I still haven't gotten back at him for all my still sore points!"

Spectra smiled underneath. She knew his weaknesses and he had swallowed her ruse whole. "And be sure that you get some more containers while you're out. We need to have an adequate stockpile, you know."

This time, Bertrand frowned. Give her that inch….and she'd take a league!

Even still, he went to his lab and retrieved his little machine. He was glad he had had the time to modify it. He typed in the names of the ghost animals and changed the gauge to read the new emotion he had just programmed it to scan for and pick up: 'fear'. He turned it on and it didn't react at all. He frowned, and then smirked in irritation. He knew why! Their ghostly signatures were _still_ being entirely masked, and therefore, of course, could not be detected by his little machine.

Drat!" he said, but then thought. "_But then again, if they came from the other direction of the Ghost Zone in the first place, they might want to flee in that same direction, and, of course, far away from us. Hmm… And just in case I can't make them out right away because of how well their dark colors blend in around here, I know the machine will verify it is them since they wouldn't show up on the gauge! OK, then, better waste no more tim_e."

He quickly left his lab, left his lair, and left Spectra behind, in search of the two little miserable ghost animals.

_****_

Bertrand's hunch had been right. Derek and Sarah had left Spectra's lair in the direction that they were headed before they had encountered those two evil ghosts.

Because this whole area was completely foreign to them, they had to follow what seemed to them a natural path between all the lairs. It made their elopement slower than they wanted it to be, but they pressed on, nevertheless.

All the while, they talked about everything that had happened. They were both upset, of course, but each was upset for slightly different reasons. And for the first time in a very, very long time, their conversation was slowly becoming heated.

"At least we didn't leave with too many scars," Derek said as his wife looked down upon him at her usual perching site, which was, of course, on top of his head. "And I never want to come back to this wretched place again."

"I agree, Husband, that I do not wish to go back there. But we _must_ go back and help that human couple, Danny and Sam," Sarah finally said. "Those two evil ghosts plan even more malevolence, especially upon the boy." She quickly told him all about what she heard between Spectra and Bertrand and their next plans.

"That is their problem, Sarah," her husband tersely answered, his ghostly throat tightening. "It is not our fault that we were forced to do the evil bidding of that 'Spectra' ghost."

"Not at first, but we could have resisted once we had regained our wits," the dove replied, not happy with her husband's reluctance and now regretting that she, too, hadn't been brave enough to do that at the time.

"You know very well what that would have meant, Sarah," Derek said, his voice becoming more sober and even tenser. "Is it not bad enough that we are in this state in which we continue to be? But if something were to happen to you…to be…alone like this, would be, at the very least, utterly unbearable for me." But what the young wildcat hadn't realized in his distress was that he had inadvertently slowed his flying considerably down.

"You know, my love, I understand; and it, too, would be unbearable for me if in our desperation to fight back you had been…," she began. But she didn't want to finish her sentence or her thought. She swallowed hard, but then, quickly steeled herself. She sighed before gently stroking his hair with her beak; and then quietly added with genuine gravity, "But it will be just as unbearable for me to leave all those young innocent humans—especially the two most in danger—to the wickedness planned by those depraved creatures from which we had just escaped."

Derek frowned in even more dissatisfaction. "Then, why did we escape and not just stay around, if helping those two humans has become more important than our own well-being to you?" he asked; and Sarah knew his voice carried accusation with it.

"That is unfair, Derek!" she replied with hurt in her voice. "We were in no position to help anyone when we were under the power of those two. But, we might be able to help now because we shall have our own plans."

"And what, pray tell, would those plans be?" the lynx asked and this time, his tone had a hint of sarcasm in it.

Sarah remained silent for a while. She had no plans, yet. She just knew they needed to help Danny and Sam. "I do not know, Husband," she finally admitted. "But I also know we cannot leave."

"And all I know is that we cannot stay," he firmly replied. "What is done, is done. We cannot help the situation."

The dove gasped in disbelief. "How can you say that, Derek? You of all should understand how unjust that would be! And to think that you would turn your eye away from the mortal peril in which we leave that boy especially distresses me so! I cannot believe that I hear those words from you! That does not sound like the man I married. It sounds like…" But she paused when she thought of the one who had betrayed them. But she kept strong. "I cannot believe you could be so cruel!"

Her husband knew to whom she was referring, but he would not give in. He grew edgier as he replied, "Having borne the brutal burden of injustice these many years has finally taken its toll on me, Sarah. I have succumbed, and no longer feel I am capable of discerning what is just or unjust anymore. Nor do I care what will become of those humans. We cannot help."

"But there is still some hope, and-"

"But I do not agree, Sarah!" her husband firmly interrupted her, and this time he was unquestionably angry. "Have you forgotten all the disdain we have received from every living creature these past years? And those were from others to whom we had done not even a thought of harm? Now, we have caused not only harm, but great injury to all those young humans and you think they will understand our reasons for helping them after all we did? I think not! We need to flee this place and remain shunned and saddened… It is all too late, now. It is very fitting, then, that in the end, we truly deserve our cruel fate for all that we have done."

Sarah's eyes widened when she heard him. She could tell that he did regret their actions, but was too despairing to do anything about it. He had now lost all hope. She fought back her tears and began, "But do you not see, my love, that…"

But she didn't have time to finish. A large green ectoplasmic ray had hit her husband from behind, throwing her off of him. He yelped in pain; but ignoring his injury, quickly turned tightly around to face their attacker.

It was Bertrand, who had managed to find them. But, of course, the young ghost animals hadn't realized just how much their flight pace had slowed and how obvious they were with their quarrel.

The couple quickly forgot their argument with their attack.

"Get out of here, Sarah!" Derek commanded as he charged at Bertrand.

Bertrand smiled when he saw the little wildcat heading his way. This would be good! He quickly morphed into his wolf form and charged right back.

Sarah's eyes widened in fear when she saw the two ghost animals hurrying so aggressively towards each other. She scanned desperately around for something that would help her husband. She spied a large branch that had fallen off a ghost tree on a near-by purple shelf, and quickly soared over to it. Then, with great effort, she managed to pull it up with both of her feet and she flew as fast as she could to the now grappling males.

The little dove stifled her gasp when she could see that her husband was getting the worst of it. And, indeed, he was.

Bertrand, having been prepared for whatever strategies the lynx had used in their past fights, was now eagerly using all of his new ones. The wolf was easily fending off the lynx's claws, all the while protecting his venerable areas.

Still, the little wildcat was tenacious, and charged with anger. He continued in his relentless attack. And, fortunately, all the while, he could still outmaneuver the larger beast for the most part, and kept making that painful point to his foe—literally.

But Bertrand would not be daunted. He increased his efforts, pouring every ounce of his strength to cruelly and soundly defeat this insignificant pest. It was then, in the midst of their fight, he spied the dove approaching with the tree branch.

But none of them, in the meantime, had seen the small portal that was randomly forming near by. The kind that Frostbite said happened all the time and could only be detected in advance by the Infi-Map.

The green wolf gave the lynx a harsh blow, which successfully stunned the smaller animal. Satisfied that this would detain the wildcat sufficiently enough, the wolf headed toward the dove.

Sarah saw him right away and gasped. She instantly dropped the branch, turning away as she did. But he was too swift; and soon, he was on top of her. Still, she successfully dodged his first try at grabbing her with his jaws.

Bertrand growled in frustration. He wouldn't let this _girl_ outsmart him. He twisted violently back, snapping his angry teeth as he lunged toward the small bird. Again, she was able to avoid his aggressive attempt, but she had to let her body drop sharply downward in order to do so.

Meanwhile, Derek had finally recovered, and his blurry eyes snapped to wide alert when he saw what Bertrand was trying to do. Infuriated, he rocketed over to the two ghosts, aiming his outstretched claws right at the wolf.

Just before the wolf could strike the dove, the lynx violently pounced upon the wolf's back, digging his sharp nails, and then, his angry fangs deeply into the wolf's vulnerable ghost flesh.

Bertrand yowled in pain, instinctively striking the air in front of him. He pulled upward on his hind legs as he arched his back, trying to throw the lynx off. But he couldn't. The wildcat dug his fangs in deeper, firmly twisting his head to deepen the gash.

Bertrand contorted his body violently, turning in tight circles or rippling different parts of his body in his efforts to rid himself of the painful knives thrusting themselves within him. But the wolf's desperate movements only caused him and the other male to drift through the surrounding space in a chaotic spin.

Then, finally, with one last twist of his shuddering body, Bertrand was finally able to throw the lynx off. But the wildcat renewed his attack. Though smarting immensely, the wolf went right toward the lynx and the sound of their clashing bodies and claws dug into the atmosphere.

Sarah, meanwhile, had found herself accidentally trapped between the swatting claws of the wolf and her husband's first effort to protect her. With her wings, she pulled herself backwards; and with that effort, her tiny body barely avoided the reflexive, yet aimless, blow of the wolf's paws. But then, the lynx was thrown off the wolf and she impulsively flew toward her love.

However, the wildcat did not try to break off the battle. He went right at the wolf again. Sarah halted in flight, her wings pulling her back once more; and this time, she tried to move farther away. But, of course, the wolf and the lynx, wrestling as if they were one creature with fur and claws extending unnaturally from its body, were unaware of the dove's location. And when they suddenly began to move as one entity, their mass headed right towards her!

Sarah tried to zig, but then, they zagged back toward her. She turned this way, and they went the same way, blocking her. She flitted erratically, trying to steer clear of the wake of their angry mass. But try as she might, she finally couldn't avoid them as they ultimately slammed into her. And when they did, her small chest inadvertently met with Bertrand's striking claws, which had been aiming for the lynx. She screamed in pain when she felt her ghost flesh torn wide open by it; and at the harsh impact, her body was thrown away as an unwanted rag doll. Barely clinging to consciousness, she couldn't slow her injured ghost body as it hurled toward the now opened, yet unstable, portal.

The lynx had heard her scream; and, this time, he frantically increased his efforts to pull away from his foe. Though the wildcat succeeded, just before he did, the wolf countered with one last blow, which rent a large, yet superficial, gash in the lynx's side. Roaring with pain, the lynx nevertheless tried to ignore that and his mounting fatigue. He soared over to where he had heard the dove scream. He gasped, yelling her name when he saw her body being thrust into the portal. He immediately jumped in after her, just as the portal prematurely closed.

Bertrand had chased right after the lynx when the wildcat bolted away. But by the time he got to the smaller animal, the lynx had escaped, and the portal denied the wolf entry. He growled in defeat and in pain. They had gotten away! But then, he smiled. They didn't get away _unscathed_!

Now in the Real World, the injured dove crashed loudly into some discarded boxes in an alley in Amity Park, throwing up some loose paper trash when she did. She lay stunned.

The wildcat quickly exited the portal and was going so fast that he gasped when it looked like he was headed right to a violent collision with the silent dove. He tensed all his ghostly muscles; and ignoring the searing pain in his injured side which he had gotten from the effort, veered his path from her, slamming into the wall just behind her instead. He groaned as he struggled to get up. Still disregarding his pain from his fight with Bertrand and now with his encounter with the wall, he stumbled anxiously over to his wife.

When he had finally gotten to her and had inspected her wound, her husband fretfully uttered, "Why did you not escape, Sarah? You are so hurt!" He let his tears fall from his eyes when he saw the ectoplasm leaking heavily from the gaping wound in her chest. He was so distraught at his wife's condition that his own pain and injuries, which were really minor compared to hers and not even bleeding anymore, were no longer important. Through his grief-stricken tears, he hadn't even noticed that the cold wind had suddenly thrown a piece of trash onto his wife's wound. Her ectoplasm soaked the red discarded flyer, making the paper now appear redder.

"Can you not see that I, too, could not leave you in mortal danger?" she gently said as she drifted into unconsciousness.

He closed his eyes and fought back his desire to howl in anguish into the heavens. He then opened them slightly and gently nudged her listless head with his own.

Suddenly, he startled out of his grief. Human voices!


	35. Chapter 35 Catching a Breather

**A/N: Hey, all you wonderful readers! Remember how I said that things were only going to go downhill from now on? Well, we hit a little turbulence, which as you know, can be very unpredictable on those rides. But this was a necessary chapter and so, might as well get it out the way on our way to the crash landing. So, beside the IDNOAC thing, here is Chapter 35. Enjoy—and put on your parachutes! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 35—Catching A Breather

Danny and Sam startled again at still another loud crash they heard coming out of the alley they were just passing.

"What was that?" Sam loudly gasped.

Danny and she both instinctually ran into the alley to investigate the sound. In their worry, they both had instantly forgotten their woes and problems.

"I don't know, but better safe than sorry!" Danny answered back, instantly changing into Phantom as he ran.

They saw a very big black cat hunched over an unmoving ebony dove. Its jaws were too close to the small bird, as if the cat was going to eat its victim, when, in fact, of course, it was the enchanted lynx worriedly nudging his wife.

"Hey! Get away from him!" Sam yelled in protest to the cat, thinking that it might attack the bird again.

The wildcat startled at her yell.

Thinking now that _they_ were new attackers, the lynx immediately twisted violently toward the human, hunching and tightly curling his body into an attack position.

When Danny saw the creature's intention, he reflexively stepped in front of his girlfriend. Just as he did, the lynx let out a wild roar. Without hesitation, the animal pounced upon the black-and-white entity in front of him.

Danny gasped when he could clearly see that this was no ordinary cat. It was a _wildcat_.

But he did not know that these were ghosts because the concentrated ghost masking gas was still deeply embedded in both the ghost animals' bodies, snuffing out their ghostly auras and making them undetectable to Danny's ghost sense. And because their aura was gone, their pelts looked authentic. For all Danny knew, then, these were _real_ animals and that was a real, angry, and dangerous wildcat with his outstretched claws almost upon them.

The boy didn't question why a wildcat was even here, and fearing for Sam's safety, reacted instinctively. He immediately fired an ectoplasmic ray at the cat and the force of the impact slammed its body into the side of the building. The beast whimpered in pain just before he lost consciousness.

"I'm sorry, Sam!" Danny immediately said, flying toward the still cat.

"That's OK, Danny! He did attack you!" she replied sympathetically, understanding that he was sorry for hurting any animal.

Sam joined Danny in a heartbeat. After looking over the unconscious cat, she worriedly said, "You didn't shoot him with a strong ectoplasmic ray. It couldn't have hurt him this much! He looks like he's been in some kind of fight!"

Pointing to the still bird, Danny asked, "With that bird?" He instantly winced, knowing what a stupid thing that was to say. A bird that small could never have inflicted that much injury on this wildcat. It was totally impossible. Still, Danny couldn't understand why that in spite of the animal's multiple scratches—especially a rather long one on its side—and the torn-up fur, the wildcat wasn't bleeding.

Sam smirked at his reaction, but didn't comment. She turned back to the lynx and said, "He's not that big. Maybe I should take him home?"

"What? Are you kidding?" Danny gasped. "That's a wildcat, Sam, not a kitten! He looks like some kind of bobcat or lynx. But I didn't know they could be all black. He must be rare! And just how did he get here?...Hey! He must have escaped from the zoo. We need to get him back!"

"NO!" Sam gasped in dread. "I don't want him there!"

"They're not going to hurt him, Sam. They'll help him. We don't know anything about taking care of those kind of animals—especially wild ones!"

"But we can take care of him. They'll just put him in a cage, and…"

"And _I'll _put him in a cage, too, if you keep him. C'mon, Sam!" he said more firmly this time.

But she didn't budge. Her thing about animals was still one of her crazy obsessions, and it would be hard to convince her to change her mind. After all, there was the 'Samson affair'.

He finally said, "And, by the way, letting four-hundred pound wild gorillas—or any other wild animal for that matter—out of their cages doesn't count as 'caring for them', you know."

"Funny! But I don't want him to go to the zoo!" Sam said. Then looking at Danny with pleading eyes, she conceded, "OK. I'll let you put him in a cage if you'll let me take him home! I'm sure he was more scared of us as much as we were of him. He just needs time to heal and then we can let him go!"

"I don't know, Sam. But, if we're going to bring him home for now, maybe I should be the one to take him."

"You know I've always been the 'cat person' half of us. And I promise that if he doesn't get better in the next couple of days, we'll bring him to the zoo."

He looked at her in surprise. _That _was different. She seemed like her 'old self'—sorta—and maybe she was working out of that kind of irrational weirdness about animals after all. "All right," he finally said. "But just for a _coupl_e of days, and then we take him to the zoo. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" she said with a weak smile. But then she said, "But does he really need to be in a cage?"

"Sam," he slowly replied with a frown, drawing her name out in slight reprimand.

"OK! I was just asking," she continued with a cringe, giving in. She then added, "Now, let's take a look at that bird he was attacking!"

They went to the where they had seen the dove. Danny carefully made a clearing among the boxes so that they could get near the bird, and not harm it any further. When he saw it, he gasped at its beauty. For some reason, he thought it must be a 'she' on how beautiful it looked. And especially since he hadn't heard of doves' being black. Her ebony feathers seemed to shine like the purest of silk. But then he noticed the sharp contrast of the blackness with the liquid redness soaking through the discarded paper still plastered against her chest.

"Oh, Danny, it's hurt bad!" Sam moaned, unconsciously drawing her hands up to her mouth at the dreadful sight.

But Danny noticed that the bird's chest didn't rise or fall as it should. He hated to tell his girlfriend, but he knew he had to. "I don't see her breathing, Sam. She might be dead!"

Sam didn't question why her boyfriend called the bird, a 'she'. The dove was so delicate and beautiful that the girl, too, thought the bird could be a female. But, of course, they could be wrong. But it didn't matter right now.

Sam gasped with her boyfriend's last words. "I hope not! Can't you do something to help her?"

He jolted at his next thought. "Hey! I almost forgot about my healing powers! But I don't know. She might be already gone. And I've never tried to use it on animals before. Do you think it might work on them?"

"At this point, it couldn't hurt the poor little thing," she said with a worried frown, even though underneath she was glad that he had offered to try.

The boy squatted next to the silent dove and slowly extended his left hand toward it. He was afraid to even lift the paper off of its chest as he gently touched it. And just as he touched the little bird, his hand glowed with blue energy, which quickly surrounded the dove. The small animal shuddered violently under the effects of his energy, and fearing he had hurt it more, Danny pulled abruptly back and extinguished his healing power.

"I didn't expect _that_," he said, obviously worried. But then, the bird shuddered again. Though encouraged that at least it wasn't dead as he first thought, he still was concerned. He added, "I hope I didn't hurt her more. And maybe I should wait to see if it worked before I try it on the cat. I don't want to hurt either one any further. I'm still not sure of this new power."

"Well, I think you would know. And I think you're right, Danny. But I'm glad you tried. At least the dove isn't dead. Still, we should take them to a safer place. They both will surely die in this cold."

Still looking at the dove, he replied, "OK, but we should keep them separated, at least for the bird's sake. You take the cat and I'll take the dove home. But, for now, maybe you should carry the dove. After all, she's probably lighter. No offense, of course."

"None taken," She said with a dry smirk. He was right after all. The wildcat would be heavier than an ordinary house cat, and neither she nor Danny wanted want to risk dropping the animals.

Danny gently scooped up the senseless cat with both of his arms. He did this with ease, but he was still careful to support it.

Sam pulled the discarded red flyer off the unconscious bird and breathed with relief. It wasn't bleeding any more. In fact, she couldn't even see any dried blood. But she didn't think much of it. Maybe Danny's healing power had worked after all. But even if it hadn't, she still was glad that the wound had stopped bleeding.

She also gently lifted the small bird up, and it was much lighter than she thought it would be. She transferred it to the crook of her elbow, making sure that it was secure there. She knew that she would have to hold onto Danny now that both of his arms were busy supporting the wildcat.

She slowly wrapped her free arm around his waist and he carefully lifted off, turning them all invisible as they began their ascent. Soon, they were at Sam's house and Danny then made them all intangible as well and phased directly to her bedroom.

Danny landed softly and Sam directed him to a nearby bean bag. He laid the cat down upon it, sighing with relief that he had gotten it to a safe place for now. He then took the dove from Sam and said, "We do have some cages at home, but they're ghost cages, of course. But they should be able to hold these animals. After all, they have real bars that are coated with ecto-resin to keep ghosts in as well. I'll be right back, OK?"

His girl nodded and he flew off. She turned to the cat and checked it over again. It still looked very hurt, but already, some of its wounds looked as if they were healed. She thought that odd, especially since it had seemed so injured when she first saw it. And, of course, Danny's blow to the beast didn't help, either. Still, what wounds she could see, like that long one on his side, were not bleeding. And by the lack of dried blood, she was sure they must never have bled. She wondered why, but then she thought that maybe its scuffed up fur must have hidden most of her view of the wounds. And really, she didn't want to examine the beast more thoroughly with the fear that she might further hurt it. Still, she was suspicious of its left front paw. She reflexively reached toward it and took it gently in her hands. It was moving oddly, too oddly, as if it were an over used spring; but she didn't think it was broken. At least, she hoped it wasn't.

Danny returned in no time with a ghost cage. He placed the small glowing pen on the ground and carefully opened its glowing lid, which was on the top of the cage. He then floated to the cat. With Sam staying close to his side, he gently lifted the lynx up once more. He placed him just as carefully into the cage, not only to keep the cat from further harm, but so that _he_ would avoid getting zapped by the bars of the cage. After all, the bars were coated with ecto-resin; and that meant that any ghost that _touched_ them would receive an unpleasant jolt from them... But, of course, Danny didn't know that by avoiding the bars himself, he had kept the unconscious ghost animal from getting jolted by them as well.

Just as he lay the cat safely down, he glanced up at Sam and knew from the look on her face that she was already regretting her agreement with him to put the cat in a cage. Just as he was closing the lid of the ghost cage, he reminded her, "Remember, that he only needs to stay there for a couple of days or until he's better. But not for long in either case. I still don't like that you want to keep him here."

"I know, but I'll be careful," she said, her face still scrunched in worry over the beast. "And I hope he gets better real soon." She looked right into his eyes this time and added with a weak smile, "And Danny?"

"Yes, Sam?" he asked.

"Thanks!"

He returned a weak smile and said, "I better go check on the dove! I still haven't put her in a cage, yet! And we'd better get to school my way or else we'll be late. See you later?"

"See you later," she replied, reaching for a hug. He obliged her before quickly pulling away and soaring back to his house.

Sam turned to look at the still silent wildcat and went out of her room and to the downstairs. She quickly filled a bowl with water and set it aside. Then, she pulled out some hot dogs and scrunched up her nose in disgust as she quickly broke them up into another bowl.

She went right back upstairs and opened the top of the glowing cage again, and quietly placed both bowls near the unconscious cat. She checked him over again and was surprised that his large wound in his side was almost totally gone. Still, she was thankful that it looked as if the creature was recovering. She closed the top and secured it.

Just as she finished, Danny phased into her room. He didn't give her a chance to talk. She didn't argue with that, as she knew that they needed to hurry. They interlocked arms and Danny turned them both invisible and intangible just before he shot upward. He turned on his supersonic speed as soon as they were outside.

As they rushed toward the school, they both felt some sort of reprieve from their difficulties with their hurt and with Tucker with the introduction of these hapless animals into their lives. Still, their hearts burned with unrest, both eager to resolve their misunderstandings sooner than later. And they were both a little thankful that these two animals had in many ways 'broken the ice' for them.

But, of course, they didn't know that these were the very same ghosts who had caused all that woe and effort to break them up in the first place, all under the evil direction of Penelope Spectra.


	36. Chapter 36 Anxious Situations

**A/N: Well, are you ready for an update already? I am! And that updraft is over and it's time for everything to plummet downward in a tailspin again. In fact, just to warn ya, there's some serious stuff below. Not too intense, but it's there. But there's also that IDNOAC thing that still gets in the way of the story! Oh, well, here's Chapter 36, anyhow! Hope you enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 36—Anxious Situations

Tucker wondered why Danny and Sam hadn't showed up at their usual rendezvous point yet. He didn't think he could get through the day if they weren't there to help him—not that they really had been able to do that in the past several days. But, just having them be with him would be a kind of support for him. And he sure needed that now.

But he didn't know, of course, that his two best friends had been delayed by the entrance of the ghost animals into their lives. He looked at his watch and knew he'd have to hurry if he wanted to arrive at school in time to get to his locker. His locker. That would mean he might see Valerie. But this time, he had to go to it. He was already behind his school work because he hadn't gone to it since he broke up with her. He started off to school, but even though he was hurrying, he was surprised how slow he was actually going.

Finally, he arrived at school and headed toward his locker. When he got there, he was thankful that Valerie was no where in sight. He started to open his locker when it got stuck on him again. He growled and yanked it open. He stared into the locker, not at all sure what he would need for his first class.

Danny and Sam arrived at the school just a few moments after Tucker, compliments of Danny's supersonic flight power. They landed just behind a large tree and Danny quickly morphed back to his human form.

"You OK?" he asked her as he reached for her hand. He knew that she was still shook up about the animals. And he was sure that their unresolved conflict didn't help matters.

"A little," she began, before pausing. But then, she decided that she was just going to say it. "But when we get the chance, can we…."

"…try to talk it out?" he said, completing her sentence and thought.

She smile a little with embarrassment, but nodded.

They walked into the school, hand-in-hand and went right to their lockers. When they saw Tucker at his, both of them gasped when they saw how awful he looked.

They went right up to him and Danny reluctantly said, "Uhm, hi, Tuck, we're sorry we're late. We got hung up, and you're not going to believe why. But, uhm, so, how…are…you?" He unconsciously winced when he realized how lame a question that was, and winced even more when Tucker hammered that point home.

Their bespectacled friend turned and frowned in irritation at them. "How do you _think_ I am? I haven't hardly slept or eaten for over a week and I don't think I'll ever be able to sleep ever again! And even the _thought_ of eating makes me ill. I'm history!" He slammed his locker as hard as he had done when he told Valerie off and it shook several lockers. He turned away from them and stomped off.

Danny and Sam were at a loss for words, and had forgotten about why they had been delayed in coming to school. They had never seen their friend this bad-off—ever! Even his 'Desiree-induced' monster seemed as tame as one of those irritatingly cute little teddy bears at the spellbound Gotha-palooza compared to this. They went right after him.

They were just passing a janitor closet when Danny had an idea. He looked around and seeing no one but he and his friends were in this area, he quickly became intangible and grabbed both of his friends' hands. They also became intangible and found themselves within the closet before they could blink again. Danny turned on the light and then faced Tucker again. "C'mon, Tuck, is it that bad?" Danny began, but immediately cringed at his friend's heated response.

"How would _you _know?" he charged, thrusting an accusatory finger at his friend. His breathing was already beginning to accelerate as he then pointed just as angrily at Sam and added, "How would _either_ of you know? You both have managed to stay together in spite of what I saw between Sam and Armen way back when; and here I am, having broken up with Valerie, and her only crime was that she hates _Danny Phantom_ and can't even know that he's been right in front of her all along!" He could suddenly feel his heart beating loudly in his ears.

"Now, _wait_ a minute, Tucker," Sam just as suddenly seethed, instantly taking on her 'being on the offensive' mode whenever it concerned her boyfriend.

"No, _you_ wait a minute, Sam!" Tucker hotly interrupted. "If you would have had one _ounce_ of understanding with Valerie, maybe she would have changed her mind about Phantom! But, no, you just _couldn't_ and…"

But Sam forcefully interrupted him back. "You had better stop there, Tucker! You can't blame me for her hating Danny Phantom! She's done a great job of doing that all by herself! And if you think for one millisecond that I'm going to roll with her hating your friend and my boyfriend, well, then,…." But she didn't want to finish her threat. It was true she was hurt by his words; but they were both still friends and she didn't want to lose control of herself because of that. She growled under her breath. She didn't like being opened to this hurt. But it did come with the territory.

However, Tucker wasn't about to have Sam have the last say, "And you wanna know what's worst? I let her get too close to me, and now my heart has busted right open now that she's been ripped out of it! And I know now that I can't **ever** let _any_ girl close to me—**ever**—as long as I have to lie to her about all our secrets!"

All three friends fell to an awkward silence after that, with the only sound pounding in their ears' being Tucker's still rapid breathing. And then, Tucker abruptly turned away from them and bolted out of the closet.

"Sam," Danny quietly began, "Maybe…"

She immediately twisted around to him and pointing her own accusatory finger at him, hotly replied, "And _don't_ you go and defend him this time, Danny! He was way out of line with this one!"

She also abruptly turned away and stomped out of the closet, leaving Danny all alone. His let his shoulders drop in disappointment, and he suddenly became upset about what had just happened and _everything else_ that had happened in the past couple of weeks all over again.

* * *

After losing the two ghost animals, the battle-weary Bertrand limped back to Spectra. Even morphing back to his human form didn't make his aches go away. He groaned as he tried to increase his speed. But then, he remembered that he hadn't gotten those supplies he needed. He both groaned in pain and irritation. He altered his path away from the shadow ghost's lair.

Spectra, meanwhile, was impatiently pacing back and forth in her lair, waiting for Bertrand to return with the two ghost animals, and trying not to panic about her plans.

Finally, she grunted, irritated with herself. How dare she let two insignificant ghosts be the key to any plan! But then, another idea surfaced and she smirked in self-satisfaction. Those two ghost animals were most definitely hot-tailing it 'out of town' as fast as possible, probably never to return.

Maybe she _shouldn't_ even bother herself about them anymore. Maybe Bertrand had been right! They had proven to be really useless in the end, and it would be too much work to keep them subjugated, especially that wildcat. Besides, like Bertrand said, there was the complication on what to do with them after she had accomplished her plans. That would have been a real mess. Just as well they were gone, then. No sense worrying about those two miserable little ghost animals any more.

Bertrand and she could finish off the Ghost Kid's relationship on their own.

She folded her arms in front of her and grabbed her chin in thought. Finally, she brightened. _That_ would definitely do it! Why hadn't she thought about that before? But she quickly threw away her self-chiding thoughts, useless prattle that they were.

She smiled at these fresh plans. It would be the _**coup de gras **_for that ghost hybrid, she just knew it! But the final blow wouldn't be in the least merciful. It would be as vile as her own central core.

But she growled at her next thought. Where the blazes was Bertrand?

* * *

The day didn't go any better for the three best friends.

Tucker and Sam were still steamed with each other—again!—and Danny, of course, was right in the middle and upset with the whole situation. He tried to think of what could be done to make things all right again—if anything could. But he couldn't think of anything that could help them; and he was hardly able to comprehend what any of his teachers were saying as the day progressed.

Finally, the day ended. All three friends were so miserable, they didn't meet each other at all after school and headed their separate ways.

Sam immediately slammed the door shut when she got home and plopped on the nearest lounge chair in anger and…misery. Misery. That made her suddenly think of the hurt wildcat. She made her way upstairs and to her bedroom in order to check on the lynx. She frowned with worried when she saw his still unresponsive form within the cage. That cage! Ugh! She still didn't like it! Even so, from the looks of it—that he hadn't touched his food or water yet—he was not sleeping like she thought he had been when she came into her room, but must be still unconscious instead.

She bit her lower lip and knew that Danny was right. They needed to bring him to the zoo—and help. She should have known better than to keep him.

"Don't worry, little fella," she softly said to the still silent wildcat. "We'll get you some help soon. My boyfriend didn't mean to hurt you." She paused with that thought. She didn't think Danny's ectoplasmic ray would've hurt the lynx _that _much. But, of course, Sam didn't know that Danny hadn't hurt the cat any more than what he had received in his fight with Bertrand. Danny's blow had merely pushed the enchanted lynx beyond his remaining strength.

The girl frowned with worry once more when the black wildcat still was not responding. And he didn't look like he was in a very comfortable position. She drew her lips in. She still hated that cage. Maybe she could chance it. She stepped closer to the cage, then hesitated, thinking better of it. She turned back around and made herself go back downstairs, away from her temptation.

* * *

When Danny got home, he was so upset with all that had happened today that he went right up to his room. He was about to slam the door in his frustration when he spied the cage. He had forgotten about the dove! Instead, then, he shut the door with hardly a sound and went right over to the cage.

He cautiously peered into it and now frowned in worry about the dove. It didn't look as if she had touched the water or the handful of dry oats he had hastily retrieved from the pantry and had put in her cage before he left this morning. That could only mean that she still had not wakened up. And now that he was peering more intensely at her, he wasn't certain again whether she was dead after all, since he didn't see her breathing.

But then, the bird unconsciously shuddered again and he was confused. How could she do that and still seemed _not_ to be breathing? But maybe her breathing was so shallow that it _looked _like she wasn't breathing?

He studied her again. From this angle, at least her wound seemed to be gone. There was no blood or blemish in her feathers. Maybe his healing powers might have worked after all? But he was afraid to inspect her more closely; and he wished she would recover soon.

Still, he didn't know that, in reality, his healing powers had partially worked on her. The reason why he thought he had partially failed was because she and the lynx were bewitched, and that was what had weakened, or, more precisely, had really slowed, the effects of his healing powers. Though her main wound was essentially healed, she had not fully recovered her strength yet.

Still unsatisfied over the condition of the dove or his friends, Danny sighed in sadness. What else could he do now? He didn't feel like doing anything else in here, least of all lying down; so he went back downstairs to check on his family.

* * *

Tucker was more than edgy. He felt his skin would crawl right off of him with how exhausted and troubled he was. Not only was he still upset about Valerie, now he and Sam were on the warpath again. And he was sure that he even ticked off Danny. This day—and week—couldn't get _any_ worse.

He went right up to his room when he got home and didn't come out for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, his parents were getting more and more worried about him. Especially his mother. In the past few weeks, her usually sweet, overly-chatty son had been growing more sullen and silent; and, more importantly, he had virtually stopped eating. Something had to be _very_ wrong for Tucker to even pass up his favorite dish. And she couldn't help but feel that this had to do something with Valerie, especially when she hadn't seen the girl for quite a few days now.

Mrs. Foley bit her lower lip. Tucker was acting very chillingly like his father had acted when she had….She swallowed hard, trying to goad herself into talking to him. This had to be the right time. But still, she hesitated.

* * *

Valerie, too, was still down in the very bottom of the dumps. She had only seen Tucker, Danny and Sam during their shared classes. But that was it: _she _had only _seen _them. They hadn't even so much as glanced her way. And she had been so upset about everything, she had actually disconnected her ghost radar. She didn't care at this point if her whole other world would be turned upside down. She was eager for it to join her upside down life in _this_ world.

When she got home, she went right up to her room. Her head ached as much as her heart right now. And with every thump, she was feeling herself drift right into total despair. But then at the next dull ache she suddenly grew angry. Danny and Sam were being so unfair to her! All they had to do is say that they didn't want to hear any more about her 'secret' life and she would be willing to never mention it again!

And what about Tucker? She felt a sharp ping in her heart. Why hadn't he cooled down yet? It had been more than a week since her party, and as about as long since he had told her they were through. She jolted at her next thought. He hadn't 'cooled down yet' because he had been _dead _serious about breaking up! She swallowed the lump she felt forming in her throat. That was not enough for her to accept it. This was all just a big misunderstanding, that's all.

She sucked in her lower lip and bit down on it with her decision. This would be it—the final test. She would try one more time to get through to him. If she failed, she would know it was over and that would be that!

She went downstairs to dinner with a little more hope, but she didn't so much as touch her food.

* * *

Tucker's mother woke with a start. She turned to the clock. It read one-thirty in the morning. Then she heard it again. A noise downstairs. She turned in her bed and looked at her sleeping husband. Sometimes, she wished he wasn't such a heavy sleeper, or that she was a light one. But, he also had a rough day at work today and she didn't want to alarm him.

She slowly and silently got up and crept downstairs, glancing into her son's room as she passed it. Once she was on the first level, she checked the front door. It was unlocked! She quickly locked it, her heart suddenly racing. Then she heard another noise. In the kitchen. She slowly made her way to it, and heard a sound. Then, she saw that the light was on. And then she was at the doorway….

Prior to that, Tucker had been tossing and turning. He opened his eyes and brought his alarm clock so close that he almost hit his nose with it. "Only quarter after one?" He groaned. He could swear that he hadn't even had thirty straight minutes of sleep yet.

He reached for his night stand light, turned it on, and then pulled on his glasses. He slowly rose, thinking to himself, _"Oh, man, I probably can't sleep because of being cooped up all night in here!" _Then he groggily pulled himself out of bed, but didn't really know why he was headed downstairs.

Just as inexplicably, he went to the front door in autopilot, opened it, and peered at the snow-laden sidewalk. The cold night wind suddenly pushed against him, as would an intruder insidiously and blatantly invading his house; only that this cold stranger had intended all along to encroach upon his heart.

"_What am I doing_?" he suddenly chided himself, closing the door and shaking his head in an effort to clear it. His eyes then drifted to the kitchen door, which was not to far from the front door. He finally thought, "_Maybe a cup of hot chocolate will help me to relax." _

He entered the kitchen and flipped the light switch. He quickly retrieved the necessary items and warmed up his cup of milk in the microwave.

The bell on the microwave rang and he had just retrieved the cup when he turned and startled a little at the form that suddenly appeared in the doorway…

"I'm sorry, Honey! I didn't mean to startle you! Are you all right?" his mother asked, her form coming into the sharp focus as the light hit her when she entered the room. "I thought I heard someone down here…You know how _sensitive_ my 'are-you-in-my-kitchen?' radar is."

Her son chuckled a little, but his frown remained on his face.

"You're not sick again, Honey?" she asked again.

"Well, not really sick, just a little down," he mumbled.

She walked over and took the cup of hot milk from him. Motioning for him to sit down, she completed the task and then placed the hot chocolate right in front of him.

"You know you didn't have to do that, Mom," he quietly objected. "You have to get up early tomorrow, uhm, I mean, today." He was speaking of the latest church function she was in charge of—as usual.

"Yeah, I know, but it can wait," she said with a wry smile, knowing what he had meant. She sat next to him and paused as he took a sip of hot chocolate. Now was her chance. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He looked at her and blinked in surprise. How did she always know that he was upset? Maybe it was linked to that 'are-you-in-my-kitchen?' radar of hers.

"No, not really," he lied, just before taking another sip from his mug.

"That's OK, son. Just wanted to let you know I'm here if you need me." Angela knew something was wrong, of course, and somehow now knew by his response that it _did_ have to do with Valerie.

He looked up at her when she said that and saw the genuine concern in her face. She and his father were two-of-a-kind. And suddenly, he knew how lucky he was that he had them as parents.

He debated whether to say anymore, but suddenly, it just happened. "Mom? Have you ever kept any secrets from Dad?"

Her eyes widened a little at the unexpected impact of that question. Could she even think clearly enough right now to be able to give him a decent answer, even when she had been yearning to tell him this ever since she noticed how upset he was? But she could tell by the look on his face that he was….unmistakably serious.

Angela swallowed a little; but then, made her decision. Sure, her son was still young, but he had matured so much within the last year, so maybe he could handle it. She wanted to let him know that she understood what he was going through with all his obvious pain and hurt. And he looked as if he needed a definite answer to a definite problem.

"Well, only one—a big one. But I was young and very, very selfish at the time."

This time, Tucker's eyes widened at her reply. Selfish? His mom? No way! But he resisted the urge to say anything.

"It was shortly after I started dating your father, which you know was when we were in high school. We were about your age at the time. I mean, he was nice and I liked him, but at that time, I really didn't want to get labeled as 'his girl'. But I also liked the idea that I had someone who paid attention to me."

"But then, one day, a new guy showed up at school; and, man, did he ever knock my eyes right out of me!" She gasped. Did she just say that? She instantly blushed.

Tucker smiled a little at her comment. He had never seen this side of his mom before, but he was amused by it.

She paused, trying to get back into her 'mother' mode again before she continued. "Well, I started talking to him and we hit it right off! I thought this was really cool and easy. And I really liked him. But I didn't want to hurt your father's feelings, because he was very nice. So I started seeing Jimmy behind your father's back. And I also continued to date your father."

Tucker's eyes widened again and he unconsciously put his cup back down after having just retrieved it to take another sip.

His mother paused again. Should she tell him more? Well, she already had done it! Maurice, of course, knew all about this, and she felt her son needed to hear it. And, besides, it was all ancient history.

Angela continued, "Everything seemed to go sort of well in the beginning. Jimmy and I had some great times. He was exciting and wild, not at all like your father. But I had to hide it all from your father. Not that I stopped liking your father, because we also had such fun together. But, you know, I kind of had the 'I-want-my-cake-and-eat-it-too' disease back then. I didn't want to give your father up, because I knew he really liked me and was, and still is, the 'very loyal' type. But I didn't feel the same about him. I didn't want to be tied down to anything or anybody at that time in my life. In fact, I was even afraid of that happening. So, I even talked down about your father to make Jimmy feel like I liked him over your father. And to make Jimmy think I wasn't serious about your father."

"And then, all of the sudden your father and I started to get into all sorts of petty fights, when we hadn't had any before I started going out with Jimmy. And that including criticizing your father over just about everything that I didn't like about him. I told him that I thought he was just so…so 'boring', and too 'goody-goody'…. And I thought he was so predictable…I didn't even feel that guilty about what I was doing to him, because I was so attracted to Jimmy."

"But it wasn't like you were married or anything, Mom," her son objected, trying to give her an 'out'. After all, he understood that part. He didn't want to feel particularly committed right now…he thought. And she did end up marrying his father.

"Hear me out, Tucker," she said, and he bit his lip on how serious she sounded just then. "But then, something went terribly wrong." And this time, she said that in a remorseful hush.

"Your father found out about Jimmy. I don't know how, but it didn't matter. And I'll never, ever forget the look on his face when he finally got the nerve to ask me about it, and I told him the truth. I didn't know it then, but I know now that he had felt betrayed. But I didn't think about it all back then because, well, I wasn't even capable of knowing at the time how _much_ in love he was with me—even then. I was too into myself and just wanting so much to just have a good time all the time to realize all that."

She didn't notice the smile that she suddenly had on her face when she thought about her husband again. He was really quite special even then. And he still was. And she knew what she had mistaken as 'boring', 'goody-goody' and 'predictable' about Maurice were qualities that every good person should have: level-headedness, patience and loyalty. She also hadn't noticed that she had drifted in her thoughts, reliving those events, or that her pause was longer than Tucker thought it should be.

"Uhm, then what happened?" he blurted out, snapping his mother out of her musings.

She frowned more seriously this time and continued, "Well, of course, your father was devastated. He thought that I had felt the same about him all along. But I wasn't in love with him at all, or at least, I didn't think so. Still, he didn't get angry. He just sat there, stunned, nodded oddly with understanding, and then left the room without another word."

Tucker began to shift in his chair with uneasiness. Did he really want to hear any more?

But his mother pressed on nevertheless. Somehow, she needed to finish this. "At first, I thought that was the end. Your father avoided me like the plague after that. And you know, for the first time, I was kind of upset about it. I didn't know why, but I was. But, of course, I understood why he did avoid me, and I didn't blame him at all for it. I would have done exactly the same thing."

"But I still had Jimmy. Still, somehow, it wasn't the same between him and me anymore. I hadn't seen it at first, because I was so distracted by everything else in my life, and by the excitement of this new relationship. I wish I had seen it earlier, but I hadn't. But he was getting more and more possessive. He started becoming more demanding of my time, and my grades began to slip because of it. And I could finally see that he had a very bad temper."

She paused again and frowned with indecision. "I'm sorry, son. I don't know if I should tell you anymore."

"Please, Mom. I want to know," he replied, and she could tell he did want her to go on.

She paused a little, but then nodded slightly before continuing, "He was beginning to suffocate me with his demands. I didn't want to do the stuff he wanted, stuff I knew that I shouldn't do. But he was putting more pressure on me. And then, one day, I decided I couldn't take it any more. I waited to tell him after school. I told him to wait for me in the gym where I knew we would be alone. After what happened, I should have made sure that I had told somebody about my plans. But, like I said, I was so into myself I thought I had it all together."

"We finally met up and I told him I didn't want to see him anymore. But then, he got angry, and told me that I was 'his' and no one else's. Like I said, he had a bad temper, but I had never seen him _that_ mad before, and he frightened me so badly. I tried to leave, but he wouldn't let me. He said that he was going to prove to me that I was only his. And then, he grabbed my wrist. And it really hurt when he did. But when I insisted that he let go of me, he refused. He started to drag me with him."

"And then, for some reason, your father came in. I didn't know at the time that he was there earlier than normal to practice basketball with his friends. And I didn't know that he saw what was happening. But without hesitating one bit, he stepped right in and was willing to do whatever it took to keep Jimmy away from me. And, yes, that meant coming to blows with Jimmy. Jimmy, of course, had thrown the first punch, even when your father tried to reason with him. And…and Jimmy made sure to make every punch hurt."

"Your father did get a few in himself, but he was no match for Jimmy. Jimmy could very well have killed your father because he was much bigger and stronger than he. But before Jimmy could do any more harm to him, a few more of the guys that your father had planned to play basketball with finally came in, along with one of the kids' father. They jumped right in right away and stopped Jimmy. Your father was pretty beaten up, but he was, of course, all right in the end. Jimmy was expelled after that, and eventually dropped out of school. Later on, I found out by accident that he had gotten so bad that he finally ended up in jail."

She paused again, thinking about all the turmoil she had gone through and all the turmoil she had made who would become her husband go through back then.

Tucker was glad she had paused. He was a bit shaken about what she had told him and that he had even asked her that question in the first place. Still, he had always thought of his father as being the quiet type. Not at all aggressive. But it was sorta nice to know that he was obviously quite brave underneath after all.

"But you know what, Tucker?" she finally and quietly said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What's that, Mom?" he barely uttered.

"Sometimes, we have to fall into the pits in order to _let_ someone help pull us out. It was at that moment, I realized just what kind of man your father was. In spite of what I had done to him, he was still willing to do the right thing and help me, even when he didn't have to get involved and I hadn't deserved his help at all. He could have blown what was happening right off, thinking it was just a spat between Jimmy and me. But he didn't because, you see, he wasn't so into himself that he couldn't see that what Jimmy was trying to do wasn't right…And realizing all that just gave me the jolt I needed to look beyond myself for the first time in my life…"

"But, you know, we didn't get back together right away after that. It took time for both of our wounds to heal." She suddenly chuckled, "Besides, I didn't blame him and understood why he didn't want to get back together. In some ways, I deserved all that trouble…Still, I couldn't help myself and I guess you might say that I actually pursued him after that! But in the end, you know we got back together. I am truly blessed to have him, just as I'm blessed to have you. After all, you remind me of him so much."

This time, Tucker unconsciously blushed. Secretly, he hoped he would be _that_ good.

"Thanks, Mom," he said as he got up and reached over to give her a quick hug and kiss.

She sighed when he left. She was so glad she had changed for the better, so that she could have this wonderful family.

Tucker went back to bed, thinking about what she had said. He hadn't expected it in the least, and he wasn't sure if it really had anything to do with Valerie and him. Still, he did feel a little better, and an inkling of hope popped out of nowhere.

He lay there, staring at the dark ceiling. He still didn't think he could go to sleep. But a few minutes later, he was asleep before he knew it.


	37. Chapter 37 Bumps in the Night

**A/N: WOOW! Is it already Friday? Then TGIF, y'all! And what better way to celebrate than with an update? I certainly can't think of anything else! And, of course, I hope this will be the spark for a great weekend for y'all! And even though I would like to forget it, I need to mention the 'IDNOAC' thing, just so you know that if I did own the DP characters, I would have given them to Cartoon Network, who would undoubtedly see it as the jewel it is and would still be showing it off! In any case, I'm off my soap box. So, let's get right on to Chapter 37—and to throwing your thoughts at me about the story so far. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 37—Bumps in the Night

The lynx began to stir, growling with a low sound of pain as he did. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around and saw some shimmering green bars in front of him. _What was this?_ Was he in a cage—again?

He peered past the bars and into the strange, darkened room. He saw odd shadows move with the quiet flicker of the small candles that dotted some parts of the room. He had no idea where he was. But because his blurry vision impeded him from seeing too far past the glowing bars, he also had no idea that the he had company in the form of Sam, who was still sleeping soundly and had yet to hear the wildcat's waking.

A more intense pang of pain shot up his left front paw when he tried to stand up. He quickly fell back down and his cage rattled slightly. This time, the girl, unconsciously reacting to the odd sound, stirred. But the lynx's still muddled mind didn't pick up on that.

The lynx shook his head, trying to clear his mind. _"I'm hurt?"_ he asked himself in bewilderment. _"But how?"_ Then, his memory began to come into focus. _"That white-haired boy attacked me with some kind of …of energy beam!"_ That confused him, again; but then, he remembered his fight with Bertrand. And he jolted at his next thought, _"Where's my Sarah?"_

He tried to get up again, but that same injured paw buckled under him once more. He tried again, determined to make that paw obey him. But the pain didn't obey him, and he felt his body fall forward and sideways, this time crashing right into his cage. He was immediately jolted by a large bolt of anti-ectoplasmic electricity when he did and he yelped in pain. And that anti-ghost blow was enough to knock him back out.

But the sound of his body's getting zapped and his feline cry startled Sam awake. She quickly turned on her light and made a dash toward the cage. She looked at the beast and was surprised to see smoke billowing from his fur. But she was too worried from hearing his cry of pain to think anymore about it.

"Oh, you poor thing!" she cried as she threw open the cage's lid. This time, she was going to chance it! He must have rammed right into the cage and hurt himself all over again! She couldn't let that happen again, especially since she had hated the cage from the very beginning.

She opened the shimmering lid, reached in, and wormed her arms under the lynx. Why did he feel so cold? But she lifted him up anyway; and when she quickly saw how difficult it was, she made a concerted effort and pulled him out of the cage. She swayed slightly, trying to balance her weary body and his weight. As she headed to her beanbag, sweat began to form on her brow and her breathing increased with her effort; and she silently chided herself for putting the cat at risk for more injury.

Finally, she just made it to the beanbag, though the landing of the cat when she placed him upon it was harder than she had wanted it to be. She cringed, but the lynx didn't seem to have gotten any more hurt by it.

She hurriedly got some extra pillows and gently propped up the silent beast, especially his left front paw. She shivered a little when she saw just how sharp his claws were and bit her lower lip. Maybe she _had _made a big mistake in taking him out of the cage. But it was too late, now. She didn't want to chance dropping him in trying to put him back into the cage.

She went to a nearby chair, sat down, and looked at her clock. It was two o'clock in the morning. She groaned, but stayed where she was and waited, dozing off slightly as she did.

A few minutes later, it looked as if the lynx was coming to again. Sam immediately heard the shift of his body and woke with a slight start. She carefully got out of her chair and gingerly approached the beast. He then uttered a pained sound, and her eyes widened in surprise when he seemed to groan like a _human._ But she thought that her groggy mind had merely imagined it.

The wildcat slowly opened his eyes and as his blurred vision cleared, he saw amethyst-colored eyes looking back at him. He immediately startled, not expecting to see anyone so suddenly right in front of him. And he was especially not expecting to see the same girl he had faked wooing for the past few weeks!

Sam gasped when the beast tried to pull away from her and whimpered in pain when he did. "It's OK, little fella!" she instinctively and gently said. "You're hurt, but I'll take care of you!"

Derek looked at her in bewilderment. His still-dazed eyes blinked as he tried to think. What did she mean by that? She wouldn't be able to help him! He was a ghost! But then, he was suddenly aware of an intense pain pulsating up his left leg. He glanced down at his throbbing left paw and jolted a little. It wasn't glowing. He then remembered that his ghostly aura must still be masked by that potion, and because of that, his body _did_ look real. She must have thought that he was a real wildcat. But then, he wondered why this girl would let a 'real' wildcat run loose, especially in her own room?

Another thought struck him immediately after that. Maybe she knew who he was after all! But how could that be? She hadn't seen him in this form. And he had overshadowed that other human teen and had used that teen's voice. He stifled his gasp. Maybe he had uttered something in human speech while he was unconscious and she had heard him? But then, would she put it all together? How? And why would she take him out of his cage if she knew who he was?

He shook his head, trying to clear it. And the next thought riveted it into more focus, though not completely just yet. Where was his Sarah? He suddenly tensed with worry, which clouded his already dazed mind. Had his wife phased into the oblivion? NO! He wouldn't believe that! Maybe somehow this girl _did_ know of them and had taken his wife away to get back at him for what he did to her? So then, the girl could have him out of his cage and still have power over him if she held his Sarah hostage. NO! He felt a pang within his central core. He couldn't bear the thought of being made a servant of another again!

This time, he reacted. He was too worried about his wife and then grew angry that anyone would put her in danger again. _No one_ was going to keep him from getting to her! He tried to pull himself upward, but fell again when the pain shot through his left paw again.

Sam gasped and instinctively stepped toward him, trying to help. And in the next instant, their eyes met. Sam reeled backwards in shock when she could swear that she felt his thoughts for a fleeting moment. And they were _human _thoughts!

Derek, too, felt what she did and now he was desperate. She _did _know who he was! Did she have some sort of magic, too? After all, he knew nothing of the humans of this time period. Then, she _must_ have his wife! He instantly flared his fangs in fear for his wife, and growled threateningly at the girl.

Sam stepped quietly away while trying to reassure the animal. "Shhh...It's OK! I could have kept you in that cage over there,…" She pointed out the glowing cage and was surprised that the lynx followed her hand and looked to where she was pointing. But she continued, "…but I wanted to prove to you that you could trust me. Please don't get upset. You're still too hurt to attack me!"

Derek knew she was right. He was still too injured to do much at the moment; nevertheless, what had she done to his Sarah? He growled again. He still wanted to know what had happened to his wife. But he didn't want to let this girl know that he could speak and understand her. He tried to think of a way to get out of here.

He tried to shift his weight more forcefully upward off the beanbag, but as soon as he put any weight on his left front paw, he yowled in pain and slipped back down.

Sam gasped in worry and in fear. The animal was definitely getting agitated. Perhaps she should call Danny—now! She began to concentrate, feeling the familiar movement in her mind whenever she used her telepathy.

But just a few moments after she had a connection and called to her boyfriend, she lost her concentration. And that was because of what the lynx did.

In its efforts to pull itself up again, the wildcat had stumbled and tumbled onto the floor, jolting Sam out of her thoughts. He let out an angry and painful growl immediately afterward.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx

Back at the Fenton residence, Danny startled awake when he felt Sam's brief connection and heard her cry out his name…and the cry of a…a _wildcat! _He shot up in his bed, instantly knowing that his girl had tried to reach him by that now familiar pressure in his mind.

"She's got to be in trouble! I knew I shouldn't have left the cat with her!" he gasped out loud, and he heard a rattle in the bird's cage when he said it. But there was no time to check on the bird. He jumped out of his bed, willing his bluish-white transformation rings at the same time. An instant later, he turned intangible and soared out of his window at supersonic speed.

Meanwhile, Sarah had been startled when she heard that male voice.

She had recovered a couple of hours before, but she had remained quiet, mustering her strength before she would try to see where she was. And because her ghostly vision was still blurry, she hadn't seen much of anything in this darkened room except the shimmering green bars of her cage. But she thought she had heard breathing the entire time that she had regained consciousness. That is, until she heard that male scream just now.

She startled again when, following the echo of the male voice, the room was momentarily illuminated by two bluish-white rings of light. She caught a glimpse of a dark-haired boy suddenly turning into a white-haired….ghost? She didn't know what to make of this and hadn't seen the boy's face, since he had his back to her. She anxiously watched as the boy phased through and shot out the window. She kept still, not certain on what to do. She felt her central core freeze more with the sudden recall on what that boy had last said. Didn't he mention a _cat_? Was it _her_ cat?

The thought jolted her and her head unexpectedly began to spin. She instantly knew that she had not completely recovered from her wound when she felt her eyes grow heavy at her sudden drain of strength. She succumbed and was soon senseless upon the floor of her cage.

_****_

Danny phased quickly into Sam's room and saw the wildcat out of his cage, on the floor, and glaring threateningly at his girl. The animal was already in a crouched position, and Danny just knew that it would be milliseconds before the wildcat would pounce upon Sam.

But Danny didn't know that the cat was crouched like that because he really couldn't get up to attack Sam. The hybrid immediately flew right between them and shot the wildcat with a powerful green ectoplasmic ray.

The black lynx howled in more pain, and then collapsed.

"Danny, why did you do that? He couldn't hurt me!" Sam objected, frowning with chagrin at the unconscious animal.

"But you called me and I heard him growl!" Danny countered, his face etched with worry and confusion.

"I did?" Sam began, scrunching her forehead in bewilderment. She then blushed when she remembered. She squeamishly added, "Oh, yeah! I did. But just as I called you, he fell off the beanbag and that's when he growled in pain and I guess…you must have heard it."

Suddenly aware on what must have happened, Danny was now irritated with her. "**Off the beanbag?** How did he get out of the ca—…**Sam**?" he tersely asked.

She blushed even more. "Uh, sorry, Danny. He got hurt by that cage! And I thought he would trust me! So I—"

"How did he get hurt by the cage?" Danny abruptly interrupted her, bewildered by this part of her explanation. But he quickly grew irritated again with her for putting herself into unnecessary danger. He firmly replied, "Never mind! I thought we agreed to keep him _in _the cage until we could figure out what to do with him!"

She grew irritated as well. But more with herself than his reprimand. "All right! You're right! I should have known better! And now I do. Let's just…."

But she couldn't continue. There was a pounding on her door.

"Samantha? Samantha? What's all that noise?"

It was her parents!

Danny's eyes widened in dread. He instinctually scooped up the senseless lynx and turned them both invisible.

Sam threw her blanket over the cage, and then darted to her door and unlocked it.

"Sam! Are you alright? We heard all this terrible noise and were so scared!" her mother anxiously said, pulling her daughter into a nervous hug.

"Yeah, well, sorry about that! I must have had a nightmare!" her daughter lied, biting her lower lip. "But thanks for checking on me! I think I'll be alright!"

"OK, if you say so, Sweetie," Mrs. Manson said, her voice sounding more relieved this time.

Her father then added, "Are you sure you're all right, Honey?"

Sam nodded and smiled weakly. "Yes, uhm…thanks for checking on me."

Satisfied that everything was fine, the girl's parents gave her another quick hug and went back to their room.

Sam sighed as she closed and locked her door again. But then, she startled when she heard an "OW!"

When she turned around, she saw a rematerialized Danny putting the lynx back into the cage. Still irritated and therefore distracted about the situation, Danny had accidentally brushed one of the bars as he tried to slowly lower the cat down. He was still getting little zaps by the cage even as he was trying to finish his careful task.

Sam bit her lower lip when she could see he was still upset by what she did. "Danny?" she softly said.

"Yes, Sam?" he brusquely replied, pausing and glancing only briefly at her after he had gotten the lynx safely back into the cage. He didn't want to brush against the bars and get zapped again on the way out.

"Uhm, thanks for rushing right over as soon as you thought I was in trouble, which I guess I kinda was!" she said with a weak smile.

He didn't smile back, as he was still smarting from the cage's ectoplasmic zaps and was still irked with her for pulling this stunt. Instead, he firmly said, "Well, good-night, then. And keep that cage **closed**!" He turned intangible and soared right off without another word.

She looked at the wall through which he had phased and frowned, chiding herself. She should have known better than to let the cat out. But she then sighed in surrender, and just slowly made her way back to her bed. As she tried to get her racing mind to settle, she quietly hoped the cat would be better in the morning. And she wasn't planning on taking him out of the cage again. After all, getting slashed by an angry lynx wasn't her idea of late-night entertainment. Still, if Danny hadn't intervened as only he could, she _would have been_ fried. She sighed, irritated with herself again. She had really ticked Danny off. Not that she could blame him. She really should have known better. But then again, she also still wasn't too much in a hurry to take the cat to a zoo…


	38. Chapter 38 At the Edge

**A/N: Time for an update, so let's get on it! Don't forget the IDNOAC thing. Here is Chapter 38. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 38—At the Edge

Danny and Sam got up with a groan when their respective alarm clocks went off. Both had had trouble going back to sleep after what had happened with the lynx last night; and both were not in the mood to get up now. In fact, the sound of their alarms was like déjà vu to them in many ways, since it had been practically as hard to get up in the past few weeks with all the worries and stress with which they had been dealing.

But today, it was even harder to get up. Especially for Danny, now that he woke with a headache. Still, they dragged themselves out of each their beds and went through ultra slow motion through their morning routines. But that also included the morning non-routine of checking on the animals. They were disappointed when they found both of the animals still out for the count. But, there was nothing they could do about that right now, since they had to get ready to go to school.

Tucker and Valerie also got up with similar groans when their similarly respective alarm clocks demanded that they get up. For Tucker, the new day was fast becoming the 'same ol'-same ol'' as they all had been lately; well, except for having talked to his mother last night. But that hadn't really helped, either. His heart was still broken, and he was practically convinced that his body didn't know how to sleep anymore. Still, he didn't know how much longer he could go on. Nevertheless, he oozed out of his bed and started to get ready for school.

However, it was a little easier for Valerie to get up. When her head cleared a little, she remembered her mission for today. She was going to try to talk to Tucker and get through this mess. She just had to. She got up and started to get ready.

Al and Armen had also gotten up in their own homes, but they were up in time. They had slept a little better than the already mentioned couples. They had both talked about all the weird things that had happened to the other these past few weeks; and felt an odd bond with each other because of them. In fact, they had both laughed and understood it when Al had suggested that they _had_ to get along, since they both were now officially crazy!

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Meanwhile, Bertrand had finally gotten to his own lair just as morning _broke_ in the Real World. In spite of how sore he had been, he had to run a lot of errands right after his fight with the lynx. And now, he was exhausted and went right to his bed. All he cared about at the moment was to rest and recuperate from his clash with the lynx.

Lastly, Spectra had gotten up the earliest of all the concerned parties, eager to be done with her scheme and reap its rewards. But, at first, she would have to check on Bertrand. He had not made any contact with her since the day before. She soared over to his lair and rapped loudly on his door.

He didn't answer and she banged even harder.

She went in this time when he didn't answer. She finally went to his room and saw that he was snoring up a storm in his bed. She growled and went over to him. She grabbed one of his shoulders and shook him hard.

'Owwww!" he wailed when the shoulder she had touched happened to be the sorer one of the two that he had gotten from his skirmish with the lynx. He slowly opened his eyes and groaned when he saw who it was.

"Bertrand! What are you still doing in bed? We have to get to the Real World. And where are the ghost animals?" she demanded, her voice sounding very irritated.

But he wasn't about to let her rile him up. Purposely ignoring her last question, he dryly replied, "Correction: _You_ have to get to the Real World. _I_ have to return to the 'Dream' World." He huffily pulled the covers up closer to his neck and rolled over.

"Urgghh!" she growled before pulling his covers off.

"Spectra! I'm not in the mood!" he growled as he rolled back and faced her with a very annoyed scowl, which startled her.

She unquestionably knew he was angry. He didn't call her by her last name or look like that unless he was very mad at her.

He didn't get up; but he then reached toward her and firmly snatched his blanket from her hand. Still facing her, and defiantly throwing the blanket back over himself, he grumpily continued, "Just so you know, I did find those sniveling little ghost animals! And that pesky lynx gave me more than a few licks. I almost had them, though, when they escaped through one of those infernal random portals. Who knows where they are, now; but, quite frankly, I don't care! And, for your further information, I got more of those infernal vials in spite of the fact that I should have went right to bed. And it took me longer than I thought it would take, blast it! But now, I'm so sore I'll need a few days to recover!"

"But we don't have a few days! We're in the final stretch with the Ghost Brat."

"And I'm in a much needed stretch right now!" he firmly said, scowling with his challenge. "Now, leave me alone!" He abruptly pulled his covers up to his neck while turning to his side again, and slammed his eyes shut.

She huffed indignantly, but turned on her heels and headed to his lab. She carefully searched throughout his once-again organized concoctions and found the one for which she was looking. She grabbed the vial and went back to his room. Without hesitating, she poured the cold green liquid from the bottle right on top of Bertrand. He yelped when it hit him.

"What was that?" he demanded, this time shooting up in his bed.

"That stuff that's supposed to heal ghost wounds. You said it comes from river reeds."

"Well, at least you got that right," he snidely grumbled; but then, immediately yawned. "And you're right. That should help, but you forgot the little detail that in liquid form, the river reeds' healing qualities also act like a sedative. So, I really have to thank you for the healing and _also _thank you for the much needed sleep."

He fell into a stupor right after he said that and she growled once more. She intentionally grabbed his sore shoulder and shook it hard. But he didn't budge, or even make the tiniest of sounds.

She frowned in frustration.

Now she would _have_ to wait!

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Danny, Sam and Tucker hadn't said a word to each other even though they still met up with each other. They all were too sleepy to remember that they were still upset with each other. Nevertheless, they were uneasy as they walked onward.

Finally, all the teens finally converged on the school. But when Tucker saw Valerie in the near distance, he veered away and headed right to class without going to his locker. He wasn't happy about doing that, but he was even unhappier with the prospect of having to talk to her. He sat down in the empty classroom, lay his head down on the desk, and promptly fell asleep.

Valerie, however, hadn't seen Tucker before he had steered away from her. But she wasn't going to let the day pass without talking to him. She wished that Tucker and she had this first period together now. But she would catch him before lunch, she was sure of it.

Danny and Sam didn't stifle their yawns as they opened their lockers. They didn't say a word to each other as they took out what they needed—well, for Sam, anyway. Danny just sorted through his pile as usual. He threw everything else he didn't need for now back in and slammed the door, growling in irritation.

"Why don't you get some kind of organizer for that?" Sam finally asked, as she looked down at her boyfriend who was still crouched in front of his locker.

He frowned, suddenly very irritated with her. Normally, that remark would not have even raised one of his eyebrows. But he had lost even more sleep last night than what he had already been losing in the past few weeks with the unresolved Tucker…and Armen affair. And then, there was his headache! So, Sam's comment just now inadvertently touched those edgy nerves all over again. "I would, if I didn't have to keep _organizing_ my after-school hours," he grumbled.

Sam knew to what he was referring. Last night. She growled back, "Look, Danny, I told you…." But she didn't have time to finish.

He interrupted her, "And speaking of 'telling', you never did tell me anything more about what happened between you and Armen. So, what of it?"

"What? You don't expect us to talk about that now?" Sam gasped. "And really, we haven't had time to…."

But he butted in once again, "But you _had time_ to do that lame thing with the cat last night. But that's not half as bad as the lame way you treated me when it comes to whatever's between Armen and you."

"Now, wait a second," she countered, her jaw tensing. "They have nothing to do with the other…"

Danny's bad mood was definitely in gear as he quickly countered back, "Oh, really? Seems to me that you didn't think about how upset I would be from them both…"

"That's not fair!" she replied, her voice getting edgier, "And this isn't like you at all. If you're just as tired as I am, maybe,…"

"_Maybe _you should just wait until you're really ready to stop avoiding the subject and just come clean about it all!" He countered.

Just then, the warning bell for the next class rang.

Danny didn't give her a chance to say anything else. He quickly turned and headed to his first class, leaving a fuming Sam behind.

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The day dragged on, and finally, it was lunch. Valerie hadn't been able to corner Tucker. For some reason, she couldn't find him between classes! But little did she know that he had finally thought about using his invisibility program on his PDA. If he weren't so upset lately, he would have thought of that _days _ago.

Valerie headed to the cafeteria, hoping, of course, to find him there. One of the other past concerned parties—Al—was already there when Valerie arrived. Then, Valerie spied Tucker just about to sit down with his food. Good! His friends weren't with him. But she didn't know that Sam was currently at her locker and Danny was about to head for his. Nor did the girl know that Sam and Danny were still irritated with each other…Or that Armen had stayed after class to ask his teacher some questions.

In the meantime, and just before lunch had started at Casper High, Spectra had finally been able to get Bertrand up and ready to come to the Real World. He still hadn't fully recovered, but he was sure that the shadow ghost would make sure he wouldn't recover _at all_ if he hadn't finally agreed to go.

As the two ghosts floated by the large tree near the school, Spectra turned to the yawning Bertrand and said, "Now, I want this to go right this time. And **when** all of it goes _right_, then the little Ghost Boy will be broken and his pheromones will be all ours for the taking. In fact, if we can do more than that and completely crush the brat, _he_ might very well be all for our taking, too. And that would mean that we could get to his pheromones anytime we wanted, since he would be in our complete control. How delicious would that be? Oh, well, we'll have to see. So, you _will_ be able to remember what you're supposed to do, right, Bertrand?"

"Of course, I will," he answered with another yawn before snipping right back, "It's ridiculously simple."

She growled a bit at his hint of an insult. But she was too focused to let him bother her. "Now, before we go, how much of the stuff did you get from the Ghost Kid the last time you were away?"

Bertrand huffed indignantly, "You already know how much stuff I got from him! Just two more vials are left after you 'ate' the latest one. But each of them should last us a quite a few years. They're as potent as I said they would be…Which means you should lay off the stuff for now….And, by the way, the last time I was away, _if _you care to remember, I was away looking for those insignificant ghost animals **just for you**."

Spectra waved her hand nonchalantly and remarked, "Oh, yeah. That's right!" She cleared her throat, "Ahem!" But she abruptly changed the subject. "Only a few years worth of pheromones, huh? Then she put on a dark smile. "Then, it's time to get cracking on getting enough stuff to last centuries, right? And speaking of 'stuff', how about spraying more of that ghost masking stuff on us?"

"Yeah, well, about that, Penelope. We're running dangerously low on that stuff."

She frowned and said, "What? How did that happen?"

He sighed indignantly again. "We wasted most of it on those now long-gone ghost animals, remember? But, fortunately, at least it's still embedded in me for now. And because you've been using it like it has been going out of style, there's not that much left at all! And I haven't had time to get more of those plants! And really, I don't want to, either! Getting them won't be exactly easy as pie!

"You know, you have a bad habit of using too many catch phrases!" Spectra pointed out, sounding bored.

He growled in irritation, not at all wanting to give her the pleasure of an answer on that. Instead, he firmly continued, "Yeah, _so_, whatever you have planned had better work pronto, or else you're going to be the life of the Ghost Kid's party sooner than you think."

She raised an eyebrow in a 'see?' manner after he said, 'life of the party', before adding with a sing-song-voice, "Catch phrases…"

But before he could comment, she continued, "OK, I get it! And just skip the histrionics, will you? I'll get in and out quick, so I won't need much. And, of course, you won't need any at all. And if I play all my cards right, we won't ever have to use any of that anti-aura stuff ever again. Especially if we finally get that Ghost Brat. So, in any case, because you're already anti-masked, you should have no trouble getting in quick to 'guide' the other principle player in this play!"

Bertrand frowned at her own histrionics—and catch phrases-and tersely said, "Well, let's stop the blather and get to it!"

She made a grab for the little machine and the ghost-masking gas.

This time, however, he pulled it away and out of her reach. He wouldn't surrender it to her and let her waste it like she had the last time. He quickly sprayed enough of the ghost-masking gas on her, and just as quickly shoved the little machine into his pants. He was certain—and certainly glad—that he still had just a little of it left in case of an emergency.

They quickly turned invisible and intangible and lifted up and soared toward the school.


	39. Chapter 39 Definitive Blow

**A/N: Hope you're ready for things to get serious. Makes me squirm, for sure, because you know I'm an action-lovin' kind of person. But even though I don't like it, heartache is part of the package deal when it comes to love. So, let's just get the regular stuff out of the way and get on it: IDNOAC and Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 39—Definitive Blow

Valerie spied Tucker in the cafeteria and headed right to him. He didn't see her at first. He was looking down at his food, trying to make himself eat. Shortly after that, he gave up. Sighing with depression, he looked up, and jolted when he met Valerie's emerald eyes. He felt his stomach knot up and he pushed his tray away from him.

But Valerie didn't give him a chance to say anything. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the far doors of the cafeteria that led to the outside.

When she was satisfied that they were far enough away so no one would hear their conversation, she turned to him. But, suddenly, she hesitated. She wanted to blurt everything out, but now she wasn't so sure.

But Tucker interrupted her thoughts, "Well? Why did you pull me all the way out here in this cold? Hasn't everything you've done so far been cold enough?"

Valerie bit her lip at his remark. That was cruel. Still, she hadn't thought of the fact that they _would _have needed coats out here and that their coats were still inside. But she pressed on, "Tucker, I just had to talk to you! And you haven't given me any chance to do that!"

"I know I haven't," he said, firmly interrupting her. He began to shudder with the cold. "It's because I _can't_ talk to you anymore! It just hurts too much!"

"But why, Tucker, why? If it's because of what I did at my birthday party, I totally agree with you! It was the stupidest thing I've ever did! And I'm so sorry that I didn't let you know about it before, and…."

But he didn't let her continue. He butted in, "It's not really that, though what happened at your party just made things worse. But, I just can't talk about it. You'll never understand!" He was now shaking uncontrollably, but this time, it wasn't just because of the cold.

"Yes, I _can_ understand, Tucker! Just try me! I _want_ to understand! I _need _to understand, don't you see? Because…because…you're very special to me." I think...I…er, you just are!"

Tucker's eyes widened at what she had just said. And he felt his heart cry in distress. That was the problem all along! That is why he was hurting so much when he told her they were through…Somehow, she was _still_ important to him! But he knew they could never be a couple with how she was underneath or if he had to continue to lie to her.

He stammered with his next lie, but he had to do it. It was all for the best. "W-Well, then, it looks like you've been wasting your feelings with that thought, because we just can't go on. I'm sorry, Valerie. I can't see you anymore. I think it's all…over." He barely got that last bit out, and he couldn't look in her eyes. He darted back into the cafeteria without saying another word. He whipped out his PDA as he did and activated his invisibility program. How he wished it could make him disappear—permanently!

Valerie was suddenly aware of the cold, especially the cold, wet feeling now sliding down her cheeks. She let that bitterly numbing feeling encase her as she dashed to the side of the school and to a secluded area that beckoned her there.

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Sam sighed in irritation in front of her locker. She was still smoldering from Danny's stinging remark from this morning. She growled when her combination lock wasn't cooperating. Was it going to take all lunch period for her to open her darn locker?

Then, she grumbled when she finally realized that she was having a hard time because she couldn't concentrate. She was still suffering the consequences of her lack of sleep, which only made her more upset with Danny.

But then, her thoughts had drifted to Tucker. She didn't even want to see _him_ yet. After all, she still felt he owed her an apology this time.

And just as Sam was wrestling with her combination lock, Spectra and Bertrand were phasing right into the area. They saw the girl's frustration and Spectra quickly grinned and whispered excitedly, "Oh, good! Looks like the little goth girl may be a little peeved. Makes her _very_ vulnerable. Perfect!" But before Bertrand could comment back, the shadow ghost quickly ordered, "Quick, go get that other brat!"

She dove toward Sam and began to overshadow her. But, for some reason, Spectra hit some unseen force around Sam that prevented the shadow ghost from doing just that! In fact, if Sam had been fully rested instead of being so sleep-deprived, Spectra may have very well failed at the very beginning of her plans.

Throwing aside her confusion at what had just happened, Spectra concentrated and tried again. This time, Sam's eyes flared a solid red just before turning amethyst once more when the shadow ghost was successful.

Bertrand, meanwhile, had quickly located and overshadowed Armen. The teen suddenly turned around and left the teacher right in the middle of their conversation. The female teacher watched in bewilderment as the boy abruptly left without another word. She shrugged. She was having a very hard time understanding him anyway, and, maybe, that was part of his culture.

Bertrand quickly guided the controlled boy right to Sam, who was still at her locker, just as Danny was rushing to his locker.

But as Danny was getting there, he was in deep thought and groaned at the thought of wrestling with all the stuff that would automatically be falling out of his locker. But that wasn't the only thought with which he was wrestling.

Ever since that morning, Danny had been fighting both his headache and his guilt. He had really bashed Sam more than he had meant to. Yes, being upset about 'the Armen thing' had been put momentarily aside—really, by neither one of their faults—but the problem was still there. And, yes, they really hadn't had the time to talk about much of anything since the two animals had come, but there still was the issue about all that weirdness between Sam and that other guy. Though he now wanted to find the time to work it out with Sam, he couldn't help but feel his doubts about the situation creep back up in his mind….

Still, he was feeling a bit bad about everything he had spat at Sam that morning. It bothered him because they use to be so good at talking things through. Why couldn't they now?

As the half-ghost attempted to find an answer to that, Spectra silently laughed in triumph when she saw Danny coming right to them. She wouldn't have to go search for him inside of this icky goth, after all! And, of course, she knew just what to say and do. She had it all carefully planned.

Pretending that she hadn't seen Danny and knowing he was within earshot, she had Sam grab Armen's hand and said through Sam's clear voice, "Armen! We can't be seen like this! Someone might discover us and tell Danny!"

Just then, Spectra heard Danny gasp in disbelief at what he just heard. She made the girl turn toward the Ghost Boy and dryly said, "Oh, Danny! I didn't know you were there! Ah, there you have it, then! Just as well that you find out the truth now! I've been hiding all of it from you for all these weeks, and I'm tired of doing that! So, let me spell it out to you. I don't want you anymore! I want Armen!" She ended her remark by grabbing the passive boy and giving him a huge but quick kiss. She turned back and smiled wickedly at Danny.

Though stunned once more, Danny managed to utter, "Is this your idea of a cruel joke because of that jab I gave you this morning? I can't believe you would stoop this low, Sam! How could you?" He turned to the boy and hissed, "And what's in it for you, Armen?"

The overshadowed boy said nothing. Danny frowned in confusion that Armen just stood there.

But before Danny could make another comment, Spectra, still in control of Sam and now sensing some of the girl's insecurities, said with a dark tone of voice, "I'll tell you how I could! Very easily! I told you I didn't want you to burn out with me, but guess what? I've burned out with _you_! I needed the change and then Armen came into my dull life. I've been seeing him from the time I met him, right under your nose! And he's perfect! All that I really wanted! Not like the creepy, not-too-bright-of-a-little freak that you are!"

Danny's eyes widened and his heart constricted to a momentary halt at her insult. He stumbled over his next response, "I-I c-can't believe you could be this mean after I got mad at you last night and this morning—especially when you deserved it!...And did you just called me a freak?"

"Just a freak?" she said with an even darker grin. "You're right, I can't believe it myself! I've had enough of trying to get along with you! So, what I really meant was that I don't want to waste my time and breath on a _loser _of a freak like you anymore!"

"W-What are you saying?" Danny choked out. "I-I don't understand. W-what do you mean by that, Sam?" But he didn't know what he was saying, and he couldn't believe what _she_ was saying. He knew they both were tired and had short fuses this morning, but this was _too_ much. This had come way out of the blue!

Spectra was suddenly aware of another of Sam's insecurities. She made the girl pull Armen's hand around her waist and hissed, "Don't you get it? I've had my own little dark secret all along! I can't take it anymore! I can't deal with all this 'feeling-sharing' thing anymore. It just takes too much effort… I need my space, my privacy! Before I got messed up with you, things were simpler. But now they're way too complicated for me… Besides, I have had enough of you! And this is the last straw! I finally got way tired of you not trusting or believing in me and trying to push me away. And I will never be of much help to you as you want, so it's over!"

"No, I don't get all this! What's wrong with you, Sam? This doesn't sound at all like you!" he insisted, his groggy mind trying, but failing, to make any sense of _any_ of this.

"Excuse _**you**_?" she insisted back. "Aren't you listening? Obviously, you haven't! So let the dark little evil side of me you knew I always had tell it to you straight! I've had enough of everything about you, but especially _you_! It's OH-VER!" She pulled the dazed boy closer to her, and Bertrand made Armen squeeze her harder.

This time, Danny grew angry and said, "I don't believe any of this, Sam! I've never seen you like this before! Something's very wrong here!"

Sam huffed, "There sure is! There's something wrong _with you_! Because you _definitely_ aren't on the bright side at all, are you? Not that I'm surprised… But believe _this_, then! This is _me,_ now! This is Armen and this is _us_! So, how about you making yourself go invisible—permanently?"

"You really know how to cut deep, Sam!" he said bitterly as he unconsciously fisted his hands to his sides. His eyes widened when he looked at her eyes… and he could swear he could see that dark little evil side of her that she had just admitted she had!

"Deep? You actually have something of substance thick enough in you?"

That was it! Danny couldn't take this anymore. His weary mind hadn't noticed that during the entire time, Armen still hadn't said a word, and the foreign boy's face had shown no emotions whatsoever. He was reeling too much from Sam's biting words, and now his mind was not only tired, it was clouded with confusion, hurt and anger once more. And his headache was much worse, so much so that he could feel the blood pounding at his temples. He had ended up believing her about what happened between her and Armen before…but now…now, he couldn't deny it. All his suspicions about everything that had happened in the past few weeks that he had buried suddenly jutted upward through the web of his tangled mind.

She had finally told him the truth. She had been cheating on him and she had been lying, and had been so good at keeping her own little sinister secret all along! And the truth stung worse than any thrusting blade of a heavy knife. After all, hadn't he heard it right from those same lips he had caressed with his love? And the pain at each thrusting poignant word that suddenly flooded his weary and wounded mind bit deeper into his soul:

**Sam and he were no more**.

He turned and ran off as fast as he could. And just as he left, Spectra unexpectedly found herself being violently propelled out of Sam.

And as Spectra was in the midst of her unplanned ousting, she heard Sam mentally scream, "_GET OUT OF ME_!"

The shadow ghost gasped as she slammed into the nearby wall. She hurried off, confused on how _that_ happened.

Sam regained her senses immediately and gasped when she found herself tightly within Armen's arms. She threw the poor boy off and yelled out in dread, "OH, NO! Not again! What are you DOING here?"

But he didn't answer her and didn't even flinch. Then, he suddenly staggered when Bertrand released him after seeing Danny take off. The foreign boy looked all around dazed at first. But when he came to his senses moments later, he gasped. It happened again! And there was Sam again!

Then, their eyes met briefly and Armen felt his spine tingle in dread. He turned quickly around and dashed off, without saying a word. Not that he could. He was so confused, he could only try to think in his native language. He headed right out of the school and headed for his home. He had to see a doctor!

Sam had looked at Armen's reaction and when she did, their eyes briefly connected. In that fleeting moment, Sam suddenly knew. This time was _very _different. She _knew_! She was _absolutely _sure. He was just as much a victim as she had been… And she knew now that this was exactly what had happened all those other mysterious other times that she couldn't explain.

She had been _overshadowed by a ghost_!

But, then, so was Armen just now! Still, she didn't know which ghosts had overshadowed them, but she was certain they had been overshadowed. And she had the strong, sick hunch that Danny was in some way involved again in that convenient little scene just now. And that she, somehow, knew that he was in anguish.

But then, she wondered why Danny didn't know that they had been overshadowed? Why _hadn't _his ghost sense alerted him of the ghost? She couldn't explain _that,_ either.

Sam startled at her next thought, totally riveting her once groggy mind. Just how _did she_ know and how did _she_ get that ghost out of her?

But she had no time to think about all that now. She darted toward the front of the school. She had to figure out what exactly had happened just now. She quickly concentrated, searching her own mind as she ran. A vague image appeared—a shadow ghost! She gasped. Was it Jiva? She growled in irritation when she lost the image. She bit her lip and then another thought surfaced. Vague words…biting, hateful words that had come out of her mouth not moments before…and she felt a knot of dread in her stomach…But why? Why had a shadow ghost overshadowed her and made her do all those things just now, and especially to Danny?

She stopped in her tracks at her next idea. Did the ghost want to break them up? And they were doing it by framing her—again? But why? She suddenly felt a lump in her throat and understood how her grandfather must have felt when Grandma Mason had accused him of cheating when he hadn't.

Still, the thought would not let her go. Trumped–up evidence, carefully orchestrated to…to…that was it! She now was certain. She couldn't explain it, but she was _certain!_ All this unexplained stuff that had been happening to her in the past few weeks had a well-planned purpose…with the purpose of trying to break up Danny and her! And she searched her heart and somehow knew that it _had worked_! She could _feel _Danny's heartbreak! And, this time, she was no longer in doubt. She was _absolutely certain _that Danny _had been_ involved in that little scene between Armen and her just now. She wasn't going to question how she knew. She just _did_. She swallowed hard with that thought.

But then, another thought seized her and it was more alarming than all of this….Again, she couldn't explain it, but she was certain that it was true! Danny was not only in emotional pain right now…but also physical pain! And she sensed that what had happened to him was bad, even _dangerous_! And it had to do with something _attacking_ him, she just _knew_ it. She felt her heart jump but immediately switched to her defensive mode. As she ran onward again, she couldn't help but be charged even more in desperate worry. She just _had_ to find him!

She dashed outside, searching the sky. Underneath, she realized that it would all be in vain. Somehow, she knew that Danny was far away from the school, but where? She ran around the corner of the school, searching for a secluded place where she could concentrate.

As she searched, she said in determination to herself, "Sorry, Danny. Desperate times call for desperate measures!" She suddenly groaned, "Darn it! Did I just say that?" She quickly shrugged it off and started to concentrate on her boyfriend as she ran onward toward a place near the school to where hardly anyone went.

But her concentration was broken by a sudden and undeniable wail just ahead at that very same secluded place. Someone was crying!

And, indeed, someone was…..


	40. Chapter 40 Turnabout

**A/N: Thank you again for all your wonderful reviews! And, of course, I hope you'll keep 'em comin'. In the meantime, I hope you're ready for an update, even if it's still going to be intense for a while. But, of course, you know why! So, let's get the formalities over with: IDNOAC and here is Chapter 40. Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 40—Turnabout

Armen ran as fast as he could toward his home. But then, he stopped at his next thought. His family would be very upset if he had come home without the permission of the school. He could not risk being in any more trouble, especially since he had gotten behind in his schoolwork. Plus, he had forgotten his jacket and he was getting colder. He turned around and headed back to the school. He would have to just face everything and get through it somehow. He had to do that, if not for himself, for his family.

But once he got to the front of the school, he suddenly got cold feet again. What was he going to do now? He couldn't just act like nothing had happened, even though he had no clue what had actually happened. But then again, he was feeling so upset that maybe he could convince the school that he needed to go home. He bit his lower lip. _IF_ he could convince them! Right now, he could barely think in his native language, much less try to talk to the school in English! Still, he made himself go into the school.

But just as he had come in, his heart jumped in dread. Of all people, Al was coming right at him! But he didn't know that she was headed to the office in order to run an errand for one of her teachers. He began to panic, now wanting to dart right back out of the school and towards home once more.

Al, however, didn't give him the chance. She called to him and he froze right in his tracks. But just as she neared him, she couldn't help but notice that for some reason he was panting and sweating. And then she saw a wild look in his eyes. And somehow, when she saw him that way, she just knew that he must have just experienced another one of _those _episodes.

The blond girl instantly paused just outside the office. She had been learning a bit of his language in the past weeks; and from the way he looked, she knew she had to try to use it right now. She earnestly pleaded, "_Molimo, znam nešto pogrešno, Armen. Čekajte, molim vas!" _**(1)**

Thank goodness for the mixed-up boy that she had noticed something was wrong and had asked him about it! His mind was as jagged as her Croatian, but the girl's effort had been able to reach him. If she had done or said anything else, he would have bolted. But now, he felt the tension in his body suddenly leave as he remained frozen in place.

And just a few minutes later, the girl was at his side…

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Bertrand knew right away that he needed to pursue Danny once he had released Armen. He charged right after the boy as the teen ran as hard as he could to get out of the school. Bertrand easily caught up with him and just as they turned a corner, the shape-shifter took out his little machine and aimed it right at crushed, fleeing boy. He quickly turned it on and pushed the button. He suppressed his laugh when he got the results he wanted. The boy in front of him suddenly halted and bowled over, gasping and then holding his abdomen as he did. But that didn't stop the teen from gritting his teeth and continuing in his dash to the outside.

Bertrand quickly exchanged the now full vial with an empty one as he continued to pursue the human Ghost Boy. He hurriedly pushed the button on his machine once again and this time, Danny groaned louder and slowed his pace again, panting in more pain this time.

Still, the teen was determined to keep going, even though he didn't understand why he was getting these jolts of intense pain—and dizziness—all of the sudden. He doubled his efforts to get out of there.

Bertrand was able to exchange yet another vial, all the while keeping in pace with the teen just ahead of him. Each time, the boy's reaction to the shape-shifter's assault had been the same as the other two times—only it seemed to get progressively worse...

In fact, each time that Bertrand had activated his machine, he noticed that he had more time between exchanging a full vial for an empty one. Curious about that, he watched the teen more closely while the current vial in the machine rapidly filled. It was obvious that the kid seemed to be in pain from the moment the machine was turned on. All the better about that! But, more significantly, the boy was unwittingly slowing his pace down the more the vial lapped in his powerful pheromones. That meant that Bertrand didn't have to hurry as much to keep up with the kid and that the shape-shifter could take his time changing out the vials. He evilly smiled. Sucking all of that precious commodity, then, was definitely affecting the kid—for the worse!

Now viciously beaming with the knowledge that his theory about weakening the Ghost Kid was undoubtedly proven, the shape-shifter continued in his task. And when that vial filled, he quickly put in another empty one before that inferno bell rang.

But just as Bertrand had done that, Danny had finally reached the outside of the school. He instantly turned into Phantom, bolting upward. But Danny was surprised that it was harder to do that then it should have been. But he gritted in determination and poured on his supersonic speed immediately afterward.

This time, Bertrand slowed to a stop and punched the sky in aggravation at his failure to catch up with the teen once he had morphed. But then, he heard a 'ding' and smiled. His little machine had still been able to capture still another bite of the first fruits of Spectra and his labors. He pulled the vial out. It, too, was filled to the brink of the glowing pheromone concentration, just like the last three he had gotten. Its purple color was so deep that, in spite of its intense glow, it still looked almost black.

Bertrand sneered, "Man, is he _ever_ crushed! Perfect!"

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Danny had felt a more rapid—and significant—drain of energy just before he had poured on his super speed. And that drain of energy was accompanied by even more pain and dizziness. But he concentrated harder in spite of it; and his supersonic speed kicked into overdrive. Before he knew it, he had phased through his bedroom wall and landed in a hard skid, followed by a rough stumble, before he rammed into the trunk at the foot of his bed. But he didn't care how sloppily he had landed as he pushed himself off the trunk. And he didn't care if anyone heard him, even though he didn't know that he had returned to an empty house.

He ran over to his bureau and grabbed the picture of Sam he had on it, throwing it into the trash with such fury, that the glass that had protected it shattered into a million pieces.

He then went to his drawer. He yanked it forcefully open, reached in, and started throwing away all those silly little mementos he had shared and collected with Sam. One of her other pictures fell to the floor instead of the trash can, and with an angry tear falling, he immediately zapped it with a larger-than-needed green ectoplasmic blast, creating a large burnt hole in the floor that he was sure matched the same hole that had opened in his heart.

He ignored the rattling bird cage, or that his actions had caused it. Sarah had been jolted out of her sleep over his violent entry right now. She gasped with what she was seeing: a very upset ghost destroying this strange room in which she had somehow ended. She couldn't help but fear that she may be next in this his sites.

After he had either destroyed or discarded anything that reminded him of Sam, he fell to his knees, morphing back to his human form as he did. Like the first, he didn't hear the second gasp from the dove. He buried his face in his hands, knowing that it wouldn't snuff out his pain. He also tried to ignore the pounding in his head that compounded his dizziness. He didn't understand any of this! This couldn't be happening! He had given his former girl the benefit of a doubt all this time—and had tried to forget about all those past misunderstandings—only to have her take him on a cruel ride after all. She had lied, cheated and hid it all from him!

Until now.

And now that he realized how much this cut to his very soul, all his doubts about Sam came crashing on top of him. He felt the pressure of all those thoughts shoving him down.

But, strangely, he found his heart yelling in denial. NO! NONE of this was true! This wasn't right! This was not the Sam he knew! But how could he deny it when he saw and heard it all himself?...But it was so random, so unexpected! It didn't make any sense at all! What went wrong?

He pulled his face out of his hands and screamed out loud, "_Nothing_ went wrong! But, somehow, _she_ went wrong! But how? HOW? WHY?"

He grabbed his face again, trying to squish his tears that he didn't want to flow. But they didn't want to oblige him and this time, he didn't fight them. He had lost _everything_ and even more. He had lost his Sam, his best friend, his love. He never thought it would hurt this badly. That it would feel as if his heart had been ripped out of him while it was still beating, only for his anguish to strangle it to an agonizing stop. And for what he was feeling, since in a way Sam was there, she may as well have been his heart.

The dove trembled in pity when she saw the now weeping boy... She hadn't recognized him when he first came into the room, but did when he had morphed into his human form. She didn't understand how he had changed like that; nor had she ever thought that the ghost and the boy to whom that evil ghost Spectra had been referring were one in the same until at this moment. This must be him, then—the ghost and the boy—somehow both the same person! But she didn't give it all another thought right now. She was just as upset as he was over what had happened. She just knew that the evil ghostly sorceress had triumphed in her wicked plans and had been able to permanently tear this boy away from his love. And he was in agonizing pain. Just exactly how _she_ felt, now that she was away from _her love._

Then she shuddered in fright. That would mean that _that_ cruel ghost would be after him, after the energy Spectra wanted from him, after his….life! She gasped, but as with all her utterances so far, Danny didn't hear her. She turned to look at him as her thoughts pressed upon her…How cruel, too cruel! Crueler than she and her husband had ever been treated in the Ghost Zone…but...but not as cruel as the heartless things they had suffered all those years ago. She gasped in dread this time. But if that evil Spectra got what she wanted, this young couple could very possibly also suffer a similar fate as the one they had endured! And worse, now she and her husband had played a hand in inflicting that same kind of injustice, and that same kind of danger, onto this boy and his love…hadn't they? She felt bitterly remorseful. But she would do her best now to keep that evil creature away from this innocent boy.

But before she could say anything, Danny suddenly ran to his window, morphing into Phantom as he did, and soared upward and away from the bird as she cried, "Wait!"

She dropped her head in defeat when he hadn't heard her.

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Sam bit her lower lip, now concerned that she had inadvertently barged into someone else's need for privacy in an emotional moment. She was about to turn to leave, suddenly aware that she didn't have a coat on anyway, when the crying person she had heard came from around the bushes, wiping her tears away as she did.

"YOU! What are **you** doing here?" Valerie sneered through gritted teeth when she pulled her hand away from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see the sign that said, 'Valerie's Personal Space'," Sam instinctively hissed back, crossing her arms in front of her in defiance—and to warm herself.

"Ugh! You're impossible and impossibly heartless," Valerie growled back.

"Hey, that was a low blow!" Sam yelled, now throwing her fisted hands to her sides.

Valerie frowned even more and firmly replied, "Oh, you should know! You sure hit Danny right where it counts! Glad I finally got a chance to tell you how I _really_ feel! You're a real piece for all that crap you threw at Danny!" She was, of course, referring to what she had witnessed a couple of weeks back between her and Phantom.

Sam had no idea what the dark-skinned girl was talking about. "I don't know what…." she began, but then stopped with her next quick thought. Had Valerie meant the time when Valerie as the Red Huntress had caught her and Danny Phantom together? She must have meant that, since the two girls really hadn't been in each other's company since that time.

"You got it all wrong, Valerie," Sam continued, but her tone had definitely changed from an angry one to a more chagrinned one. The goth girl really didn't know how to explain _that_.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Valerie firmly retorted, noticing the change in Sam's voice. That surprised her, but she didn't care. The Red Huntress had been ready for a fight and having one with Sam was just what she needed. "You're definitely way down there in the bottom of the barrel with all the other scum for what you did!"

"Oh, now you're crossing the line, Valerie!" Sam hissed, renewed in her anger.

"And you were crossing the line when I saw you about to kiss that scum of a ghost, Danny Phantom!"

"Look!" the goth girl insisted. "I can't explain that, but what you saw wasn't what it seemed."

"Oh, and now I suppose you expect me to believe in fairy tales, huh?" Valerie retorted.

Sam growled and fisted her hands to her sides. She wanted so much to slug the girl in front of her who had caused so much trouble in her boyfriend's life and now, of course, in Tucker's. But her charged mind and pragmatic tendency knew this really wasn't the best approach right now.

She sighed, composing herself, before saying, "Look, Valerie. You have every right to believe that I have been lying and cheating on Danny. But I haven't! Weirder things have happened here in Amity in the past and you know it! You of all people should know that there have been lots of unexplained things in your experience in…ghost hunting. Well, all I can plead is that, uh, I couldn't help myself, and that this is one of those unexplained things."

Valerie stopped in thought, again surprised about what the goth girl had just said. She was right, of course, about very strange ghost stuff happening all the time. But then again, how would that explain her blatant behavior with that Ghost Kid? Maybe Sam had been controlled by him somehow after all, and she really _couldn't_ help herself? She scrunched up her face with her next thought. Maybe that explained it. The Ghost Punk was very powerful even if he was a coward; and no human probably could fight against him—unless they were armed liked the Red Huntress always was.

She was about to question Sam further, when Sam continued, "And I know you have every right not to believe me, but I would never hurt Danny. Not on purpose. I might get angry at him, yes." Suddenly, Sam felt very uncomfortable, but she pressed on, "But I would _never_ hurt him…because, you see…" She automatically melded into her 'old-Sam-poker-face' mode, but just as quickly pushed it away. She couldn't believe that she was saying this to Valerie of all people, but she also knew she must say it. Looking right into Valerie's eyes, she said, "…because, I love him too much to ever hurt him."

The look that Sam gave her was so intense, so sincere, that Valerie shuddered a little. It was as if Sam was looking right into her mind.

But what Sam had said was something Valerie understood completely. She, too, had once felt _something_ for Danny. And she hadn't wanted to hurt him or put him into any danger. That is why she had stopped their relationship before they had gotten too much into each other. Maybe it was a kinda love for him. But then, she instantly stopped in thought. No, it _wasn't_ that kind of love. Not like the one that she had for…but she brushed it from her mind. But she did _care _enough for Danny to not hurt him.

But with Sam, when the goth girl seemed to look right through her, she felt a familiar feeling. She definitely felt in that instant that Sam's love for Danny was far deeper than whatever she had once felt for him. Valerie suddenly jolted when her other thought resurfaced. It was as deep, if not deeper, than what she felt for _Tucker_. She now understood that she had only liked Danny…but she _loved _Tucker. And she still _did_, which was why she was hurting so much now.

Tears began to well up once more with that realization and Valerie knew she had to get out of there. She stammered, "L-Look, S-Sam, let's just forget about this whole thing, OK? I really don't want to fight with you anymore! Maybe you aren't lying and what you say is true. But I don't know. All I know is that I've just lost the best thing that has ever happened to me. Tucker broke up with me! And if you're feeling anywhere near what I'm feeling, to love someone and then to emotionally bleed to death when they're taken away from you, then I can understand your love for Danny. And I wouldn't wish how much hurt I'm feeling right now on my worst enemy."

Though Valerie could feel her lip tremble in grief, she pressed on, "Now, if you don't mind, you can have my 'personal space' over there if you want. I don't feel that good and I'm going to call my dad. I want to go home."

Sam stood in silence as the morose girl passed her. And for some reason, Sam suddenly pitied her. And her heart went out to Tucker as well. And she knew that Valerie was right. If she lost Danny, she, too, _would_ just die! But she wasn't going to let that happen, not if she could help it!

She hurried to that space and closed her eyes, thinking, _"Well, we did say in an emergency. And this certainly qualifies as one! OK, Honey, here I come!"_ She jolted. Did that endearment just come out of her? She shrugged it off and concentrated.

But after a few moments, she sighed in defeat. She was being blocked and just couldn't get through to him. She was certain that he was extremely upset.

But an idea hit her. She silently thanked her grandmother. And she knew just the person who would help her.

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Tucker had been able to escape from Valerie right after their talk, especially since he had activated his invisibility program. He had run through the cafeteria, thankful that no one could see him—literally. He had wanted to go anywhere but here. But as he darted toward the entrance to the hallway, he couldn't wipe Valerie's face out of his mind, or how distressed she looked when he told her it was over between them. He felt absolutely despicable for all the lies he had told her, including this last one. If only she had told him earlier about her secret, if only Danny didn't have a secret to keep, if only he hadn't…fallen in love with Valerie, he wouldn't be feeling so awful right now. But telling lies was no basis for a trustful relationship. Breaking up was all for the best. But why didn't his heart believe that?

He finally slowed when he thought he was far enough away. But, he didn't want to deprogram his PDA yet. Somehow, he felt he could appreciate the irony of his being invisible right now. It seemed so appropriate, since it totally matched all the hollowness he was feeling inside right now. Still, he didn't know where to go. It wasn't time for class yet and he certainly wasn't going to return to the cafeteria. He couldn't face Valerie again—or his lunch.

He stopped at a nearby corner and slumped against it. What was he going to do now? But really, he wasn't going to try to answer that. He couldn't. Especially now that he felt the pressure in his eyes and the thick lump in his throat. He was just so upset, he wished he could just ooze right into this empty space and not have to ever leave it again.

But suddenly, he heard a door opening in the direction of the cafeteria. Of course, he didn't know who that was, much less if it was Valerie. Though he was still invisible, he didn't think he could even handle seeing her right now. So, he didn't want to wait and find out who that could be. He darted out of the corner and headed to the nearest exit.

But as he ran toward his escape, he was so distressed, he had unconsciously tightened his grip around his PDA; and when he did that, he hadn't realized that he had accidentally pressed the button deactivating the invisibility program. He reappeared just as he turned the next corner. And just as he did, Sam plowed right into him and both of them ended up on the floor.

"Tucker!" Sam excitedly said, jumping up off the floor, and then helping him up. "I'm so glad to see you! There's so much I need to tell you but we haven't got time! We've got to find Danny! He's in big trouble!"

"What are you talking about, Sam?" her friend objected, pulling away from her. "Haven't you've done enough damage for the past few weeks? Just leave me alone!"

Totally shocking him, Sam growled under her breath and clasped firmly onto his hand. She yanked him into a nearby janitor's closet.

Just as she turned on the light and locked the door, she let go of his hand and turned abruptly around to face him. Firmly grabbing him by both of his shoulders, she shook him as she insisted, "Look, Tucker! I know I've said some nasty things about Valerie and I may have been a bit unfair to her. And I may have seemed to have done some things that looked like I did something bad, when I didn't do anything bad, well, I know it looked like…GRRR! You know what I mean! But something more important has happened. Anyhow,…"

She paused as she tried to slow the millions of thoughts that were bombarding her mind right now. But she growled to herself and was just going to get on with it, no matter how it might come out. "Anyhow, I think that all those times when I did seem to do some bad things like…um…"

"Like hate Valerie?" he offered, as she let go of him.

"No, not that! When I cheated on Danny! I mean, when I **didn't **cheat on Danny! But it seemed like I did because I think I was being overshadowed by a ghost!"

Now his curiosity was peeked about all her blathering. He replied, "C'mon, Sam! That's a lamer of an excuse than saying that your dog ate your homework! Danny would have known you were being overshadowed! His ghost—"

But she interrupted him. She had a sudden sick feeling about Danny. Her heart began to pound with worry. She just _had_ to get through to Tucker, "Yes, I know and you're right! His ghost sense would have alerted him. But somehow, it didn't. I don't know why, but you still _have_ to believe me! I could actually _feel_ that I was being overshadowed the last time!"

Tucker looked at her eyes and knew she was dead serious. That unnerved him a little, but he was still able to say, "You could? But how?"

"I don't know! Maybe because of my telepathic powers? I've been feeling like they've been going kinda haywire lately."

But Tucker wasn't convinced. He continued, "And what about that other time, you know, like the one I saw?"

She could feel her breathing increase. He had said that he had seen at least one time when she was now sure an overshadowed Armen had kissed her. But he hadn't seen any of the other times when that had happened, did he? She didn't know, of course, since she was too busy resisting the foreign boy. But if he had, it didn't matter at this point. She _had_ to convince him.

"I wasn't overshadowed, then; but I think, maybe, that _Armen_ was! And I couldn't fight his strength when he was!" Then she continued, really to herself as she thought about the past few days, "But all those other times—I mean, just recently—I didn't know then that I was being overshadowed. But I must have been, because I don't remember any of them!"

"But you said you did the last time," he pointed out, now frowning in confusion at her explanation.

"I know, I know!" she exclaimed, now sounding exasperated. "I don't understand all this stuff! And this last time, I was made to say some very awful things to Danny...I think that ghost—which I think was a shadow ghost—wanted to break us up for some reason. I wish I knew why, but I _just know_ that this was that ghost's plans!"

She suddenly jolted at the next wild thought. But somehow, she just knew once again it was true. "And that ghost was somehow responsible for all those rumors, too! I just know it! That was another way to make us upset with each other…And… " She was upset with herself for choking on that last word, but she made herself press on, "And… I think that the ghost succeeded! I think Danny thinks I wanted to break up with him! But I don't want that! But Danny thinks that! And…" She frowned at her next thought but she knew it was true, "And Danny's not only upset, but…something bad's happening to him!"

"I don't know, Sam," came her friend's reply, slightly disturbed how creepy she was sounding.

"**You've got to believe me, Tucker**!" she desperately said, staring at him with such intensity that, suddenly, impossibly, _he_ was aware of all her thoughts! They flashed at him in fast-forward, but they were _definitely _there. _She was telling the truth_. He _felt_ it. And he also sensed what she sensed. That a ghost, a shadow ghost, _was_ involved. And that Danny was somehow in danger! But if she wasn't telling the truth, she so passionately believed she was right that if that feeling was tangible, they could reach out and grasp it at that moment.

His eyes jolted to their most alert state that they had been in the past few weeks with that realization. It totally cleared his tormented mind. He sighed and quietly said, "OK, Sam. I believe you. I don't know why I should with all that stuff you said about Valerie and all that stuff I saw you do and all this weird stuff now, but I do believe you!"

She grabbed his shoulders again, but this time it was with a huge hug. Letting a tear of relief fall, she gently added, "Thank you, Tucker! You don't know how much I needed that and how much that meant to me!"

She released him and hurriedly wiped more tears that had managed to jump out of her eyes. He noticed them, but didn't say anything.

She continued, "And just so you know, I think that Valerie still, uhm,…loves you. I kinda, uhm, ran into her after, you know, after your last…talk…with her. And…and I don't think she's all that bad now. But I'm also gonna tell you that I'll help you get her back."

Tucker smiled weakly when she said that.

She returned his with her own weak one and added, "Don't know how we're going to do that, of course. But somehow, we will. You deserve to be loved by somebody as much as I love Danny. And as much as I love you…uhm, uh, but as a friend, you know." She ended with a smirk on her reddened face.

He smirked weakly back and said, "Thanks! And the same goes for me, you know, uhm, as a friend, that is!"

They paused in embarrassment. And even though she was worried about Danny, she was also now concern about Tucker's feelings. So, although she knew what _she_ wanted to do, she also wanted to ask Tucker for his opinion first. "So, um… What do we do now?"

"Well, find Danny, of course!" Tucker said with a slight frown. Wasn't it obvious that he would want to help his currently endangered friend before trying to sort things out with Valerie?

She also frowned, but in worry now that she had thought that she had upset him again.

But his frown melded into a weak smile as he continued, "You did say that Danny was in _big_ trouble, you know! And it's not like _Valerie's_ in that kind of trouble. I can…um, find her after we find Danny."

She offered him another weak smile and quick hug before replying, "OK, then, let's go. I can't get through Danny, you know, _our_ way, because he's so upset, but I have another idea! We have to get the Boomerang!"

"OK, then, what are we waiting for?" he replied, agreeing with what she would do with that device.

And both best friends headed to Fenton Works.

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**Tranlation:**

**(1) "Please, I know something wrong, Armen. Wait, please!"**


	41. Chapter 41 Reaching Out

**A/N: Well, here's Friday all ready! And do any of you think that things are wrapping up? Fear not! Not yet. Yes, the story will eventually be completed, but I have so much still in store for y'all that **_**that**_** is not going to happen for a while! So, hope you'll stay with me throughout it all, of course. Anyhow, here is that IDNOAC thing and Chapter 41. Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 41—Reaching Out

As soon as they left school, Sam and Tucker raced to Danny's house to find the Boo-merang. It had begun to snow rather heavily, but Sam and Tucker ignored it as they finally arrived and knocked on the front door. But there was no answer because no one was at home. And the door was locked.

"Let's go around back!" Sam insisted and they instantly darted in that direction.

Sam tried that door and it, too, was locked. "Darn it!"

"What did you expect, Sam?" Tucker asked in bewilderment.

"That it would be unlocked! Danny said that his dad usually forgets to lock one of the doors whenever they go anywhere, and Danny has to double-check them before they leave!" She checked it again, and growled in frustration. She then turned back to Tucker and suddenly scrunched up her face in confusion when he was smiling and holding his PDA up.

"This is no time to joke, Tuc-…" she began with an irritated tone, but then she gasped when an orange beam jetted forth out of his PDA and into the lock in the back door. Not a moment later, the lock made a clicking sound and the door pulled itself ajar.

"Don't tell me," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah! Cool, isn't it?" he replied with a smug smile.

Without another word, they dashed right through the kitchen and directly into the lab. They searched frantically around but found no Boo-merang.

"Where is it?" Sam yelled to no one in particular, moving things around a little too violently on the lab's shelves in her desperation.

"Maybe it's in one of the other rooms?" Tucker offered, reacting to her anxiety with an attempt at giving her an encouraging smile. But it turned out to be a very nervous one instead.

She noticed his nervousness this time and smiled weakly, "Sorry…I know I'm spazzing. You know me when it comes to Danny. But I hope you're right, Tucker! Let's split up and get going!" she answered, leading the mad dash back up the stairs and into the main house.

Sam bolted into Danny's room, startling Sarah in her cage. The girl's shoulders slumped when she saw he wasn't in here. She had silently hoped he would be. She made a quick search for the Boo-merang when she suddenly gasped at the full trashcan, the shattered glass, and the burnt holes in the floor. Danny _had_ been here!

She fought back the tears, but they were not in anger at what she saw lying shattered in the trash. She was heartbroken and knew he was, too. Her heart ached for his ache. And in her distress, she hadn't meant to blurt out loud, "Oh, Danny, believe me, I didn't do _anything_! I _never_ wanted to be used for evil ever again; but it happened again! But I didn't do it on purpose! And I know I must have been made to do the worst thing to you and that just makes me feel like dying! But, I swear I will find you and make you understand. Somehow!"

She ran to the window, opened it and let the coldness and incoming snow envelope her. She let the tears fall, not knowing—or really caring—in her anguish whether they or the bitterly cold snow pinched her cheeks the most.

And then, trying desperately to concentrate, and she cried out to the heavens, trying just as desperately to reach her love, "I shouldn't have been afraid to say how I felt about you, over and over and over again! I know that you knew it, but we all need to hear it, feel it, smell it, see it and taste it sometimes. And I'm sorry I expected you to roll with it. But I swear I won't be afraid to say it anymore!" She paused, knowing that she felt a resistance to her call. She took in a deep breath and yelled into the cold wind with her entire heart, "Oh, Darling! Come back to me! I need you, don't you see? I have learned so much about love and hope and it's all because of you! I want you to know it, see it, hear it, and taste it, don't you see? But you must come back so you can—and so that I can share it with you!"

Her shoulders slumped once more when she knew that she hadn't gotten through to him. She just couldn't concentrate enough with all the emotions swirling within her. But suddenly, she strangely felt his remorse over his destroying their things.

"Sam!" she heard Tucker call and she violently wiped her eyes and took in another deep breath, before calling back. "I'm here in Danny's room, Tucker! I'm coming!"

She quickly closed the window and dashed off, wiping the snow away as she did.

But the girl once again did not notice the dove as she ran out of the room. So, she didn't see it when Sarah buried her head under her wing, totally ashamed of herself. It had been terrible to see the boy in agony a moment ago before he flew off; but seeing his love as equally in pain only intensified the dove's remorse.

Tucker and Sam had searched the entire upstairs and headed to the first floor, not hesitating with continuing with their hunt. But they could still find no Boo-merang. In disappointment, they headed right back to the kitchen to leave.

But right then, Tucker spied a note on the kitchen table. Their shoulders unconsciously drooped with more disappointment when they read:

'Jazz and Danny:

Gone to test the Boo-merang. Don't worry. By the way, we keyed in a random signature,  
so it won't be after you this time, Danny!

Love,

Mom and Dad

PS. Dinner is the other green stuff in the fridge.'

Sam and Tucker looked at each other in worry. Now how were they going to find their friend?

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An hour later, after being unsuccessful in their random search for Danny, Sam and Tucker finally realized there was nothing more they could do right now. They now had to admit that they never had expected to find him, anyways. It seemed that when Danny did not want to be found, there was no way of doing so. So, after a quick hug, the two friends had gone home.

Exhausted, Sam plopped hard on her bed and fell backward onto it, looking up at the ceiling for no other reason except that it was there. Then, in her frustration, she let out a huge scream which startle Derek out of his sleep. He jumped up and took a defensive stance.

When she heard his movement, she immediately sprang out of her bed and ran over to him, who was still in his glowing cage.

"Oh, I'm sorry, little fella," she gently apologized. "I wasn't thinking about you just now!" She looked at his dish of food and water and saw that they still hadn't been touched.

"Are you still hurt? Or are you sick now? And how is your paw?" She glanced down at his paw, and, of course, didn't expect an answer from him.

She continued, "Well, it must be better since you're standing on it. So, it must be better, right? But, you haven't eaten or drunk a thing yet! What's wrong? Aren't you gonna eat or drink something? I'm getting worried about you, little guy. And just so you know, I'm still sorry that you're in this cage, but my boyfriend Danny said to wait until you were well enough before we could let you go! And,..."

She blushed a little at the realization that she was talking to the cat as if he could understand her. She knew it was because she was so upset and worried about Danny. Somehow, talking to the beast helped her.

But, she was also still worried about the animal. She continued, "But, darn it, you aren't eating. I don't want to take you to the zoo! And how did you end up in the alleyway, anyways? Did you follow that little bird all the way out here? You really shouldn't have hurt that bird! I think she'll be OK, though, and we'll make sure you keep away from her."

Derek had jerked his head up when Sam mentioned a bird! He was sure she had meant Sarah! She was unharmed? His heart leapt with joy! And all he wanted to do now was get to her! But how could he when he was here?

Sam frowned in confusion when the lynx had oddly jerked.

Derek, however, noticed how she had suddenly stared more intensely at him and immediately controlled himself. He couldn't make her suspicious. Still, another thought surfaced. Why had this girl been making such a fuss over him? If she was so worried about him, why was he her prisoner? Wait! She didn't know who he was. She thought he was a real lynx. But he said nothing, and relaxed a little. At least his Sarah was safe.

He suddenly was aware of a small ache. His left front paw was still sore, but he, too, had to agree that he didn't think he was hurt that badly anymore. But he really didn't care about her bother. He had to figure out how to get out of this cage and go look for his wife. But the few times he had tried to touch the bars; he had gotten a nasty jolt. So, right now, he was stuck. He gagged his sigh and remained unsatisfied. He lay back down and placed his head on his paws.

"Oh, good, you've calmed down!" she said, of course misunderstanding his position change. She then chuckled sadly at her next thought. "But, I certainly haven't! You see, I'm looking for that boyfriend I told you about. And like I told you, his name is Danny. He's the most wonderful, caring, bravest and most loving guy in the whole world! I love him with all my heart."

Her shoulders suddenly slumped and she frowned at her next thought. She looked back at the lynx and sadly said, "Just look at me, will ya? Here I am so easily telling you all of my feelings. I could tell Libro all my feelings. Even my grandmother could figure them out from what little I've told her. But I can't tell the only guy I love in the whole world my real feelings about him! Why can't I do that?" She paused, but then almost immediately continued, "Because I was afraid that he would use them to hurt me if he knew…And I was even afraid that he would get bored with me, or find someone else and reject me in the end. How silly is that, huh? Then, I didn't trust him enough not to worry over that, right?…If you love someone, you shouldn't be afraid, that you shouldn't even think that those things would even happen. Isn't that what I should've been in tuned with? Yeah, I should've… And you wanna know why? Because...because, you know, I _know_ him and he would _never_ make me feel that way. _**I **_made me feel that way. But I guess I just made him think he wasn't good enough to trust."

She jolted and felt her heart quicken at her next upsetting thought. "Ohmigosh! I hurt _him_ because of that! Here I was so into myself to worry about getting hurt, that I hurt _him _with all of this! How could I do that? He's _more_ than good enough to give my trust to! Oh, how could I do that to him?"

Feeling the pressure in her eyes, she quickly looked away from the lynx and sniffed, "Because I didn't have the guts to really trust him with my feelings, to tell him that as much as I should have, that's why! And now I won't be able to do that! I know he thinks we're through! But we aren't! At least, I don't want that. But I can't make him believe that, and I won't even be able to, since I can't find him! I just don't know where he could be!"

She walked over to the chair near the wildcat's cage and sat next to the animal. Letting her head fall and with her hair now hiding her face, she continued with her panged words, "And you know why he won't believe me? Because he thinks I cheated on him, that I betrayed his trust! I know in a way I did, but not for the cheating thing. I have always been true to him, and I know he has been, too…but, to him, I sorta haven't been, and really, I don't blame him for thinking that. I understand now. Trust needs to be at every level of a relationship…and I haven't filled my end of the bargain because I didn't trust my true feelings to him. If I hadn't been afraid, if I had only told him and been more open to sharing my feelings, he wouldn't have even _thought _that I had cheated and lied in the first place."

She paused with that realization. But she still burned with both determination and remorse. "But I didn't cheat on him or lie to him! And what happened wasn't my fault! I was overshadowed by a ghost! But, you know, ...I think I was able to resist that ghost for some reason! I don't have a clue why, though."

Derek lifted his head in surprise when she said that, but she didn't notice his change. Derek then quickly put his head back down. How did she _know_ she had been overshadowed? She shouldn't have been aware of that happening in the least. And she said she could resist it? He didn't understand that! Still, he said nothing.

Lifting her head and turning to the lynx, she chuckled in embarrassment. "But how would you know about ghosts?"

No sooner had she said this, when Derek suddenly began to _glow_!

Sam gasped, "What's happening to you?"

But the wildcat kept mute.

The girl looked him over again and gasped once more, "**Y-You are a ghost?"**

Derek still kept quiet. He would not trust this or any other creature save his Sarah from now on. No longer would he show that kind of weakness. Even so, he grew nervous that she now had discovered this much about him.

Sam spoke again, pulling Derek out of his thoughts. "Not that it really mattered, but how come you didn't glow before? And now you do? And why couldn't Danny..." She suddenly stopped at her next thought. "Because he _couldn't!_ Somehow you were able to turn off your energy signature! But, I didn't know that ghosts could do that…or can they?"

She suddenly jolted at her next thought. She rushed over to her bookshelf at her new hunch, and started sorting through her vast collection of ghost books and notebooks. She growled as the moments slid by, "Darn it! I wish Libro was here! _He would_ _know_! Still, I remember something about….hmmm…."

She continued to search and finally pulled out the one for which she was looking. It was a thin book. Well, actually it was a notebook she had started while she still had Libro with her. She had begun to write down some of the information he had stored within his pages. He had insisted that she do this, even if she insisted that it wasn't necessary. Her eyes widened a little at that thought. He must have known that they wouldn't always be together, and this was his little way of still helping her! She smiled at the tender thought.

But she didn't want to linger in that thought. She had work to do! She quickly sat down on her bed and began to flip through the handwritten pages. One-by-one she examined them, glancing at the text and growling slightly more each time in frustration as each page passed without given her the information she needed.

As the minutes rolled by and she was still unsatisfied, she glanced slightly away from the text before returning her gaze to the pages, grasping the rest of the unread papers as she did. She knew she was nearing the end of her notes, but she still continued.

She had just flipped to the last page, when her eyes brightened and she turned back to the one she had just turned.

She reflexively gushed with triumph. "This is it! The _tagetes patula_ flower! Its bloom resembles a marigold and grows in temperate climates. It has been said that this flower's nectar could repel mosquitoes in the Real World. But when grown in the Ghost Zone, its properties drastically change. Its stems become thorny and tough, the blooms darken, and its perfume spoils. When processed properly, the concentrated nectar actually repels the ghost's ghost aura, masking their energy signature. But the process of formulating this ghost masking potion was lost when the last ancient Ghost Wizard faded away."

Sam re-read this piece over again, checking the pages immediately before and behind it to make sure she had read it in its entirety. She mumbled, "Not much to go by. Might not even be possible."

But she hadn't said it low enough for Derek's quick ears not to have detected them. Still, he made no comment on her discovery.

But then, the girl gasped, "**The last ancient Ghost Wizard**! Johnny 13 had said that had been Abantesma, the Spectre Whizard! And Spectra is his **daughter**! Maybe she's behind all this? And maybe somehow she was able to take his books of magic with her?" She searched her memory and smiled in encouragement, "Johnny 13 _did_ say that while she was known as Esprit she wanted to practice her powers she had inherited from him! That would make sense! Maybe she had found out about this plant, too! Maybe…" She grunted. "Too many 'maybes', Sam. Grandma said to look for proof! And you have no proof! For all you know, that plant doesn't even exist anymore—if it existed at all!" She let her shoulders drop with her disappointment. "But there's got to be an answer! I promise I'll find it, Danny!" she rebounded, gritting her teeth with determination.

However, she didn't know that she wasn't far from the truth. Spectra _had_ taken her father's books with her and _had_ tried to improve in her own powers. But she hadn't been interested in using plants and potions. However, _Bertrand_ was, and he was the one who had used all those books Abantesma had on magical ghost plants to make lots of different kinds of portions.

Sam read the passage again, memorizing the details of the plant before she replaced the notebook back on her shelf.

Momentarily lost in her thoughts as they pressed upon her, she headed over to her window and glanced out. Unconsciously searching the snowy sky, she began to speak out loud to herself. But her voice was loud enough to be captured by the sharp hearing of the lynx. "It may be impossible, but that would explain why Danny never sensed the ghost cat or could tell when I was being overshadowed all those times. And if Spectra _were_ involved…..Maybe that was the only way that she could keep herself from being detected until….until she was able to break us up! Maybe she wanted us to break up… and suck up all our misery! That could explain it. But then, why don't I feel as terrible as I did when she did that to me over a year ago? I mean, I'm very upset for hurting Danny, but it's not the same as I felt that last time Spectra made us miserable. Maybe it's because I'm older or somehow stronger?" She quickly searched her mind and shaking her head said, "No, maybe…" This time she growled in irritation, before saying, "There's those 'maybes' again. I don't need 'maybes', I need 'definites'!"

Grunting again in frustration, she turned completely around, away from the window so that her back was now to it. She leaned against the window sill and heaved an annoyed sigh.

Meanwhile, Derek listened intently to the girl, but kept firm in remaining mute. Even though he now believed the girl wished no harm on him and it looked like she was finding out about everything on her own, he didn't trust her. Yet, he was surprised that she knew this 'Spectra' creature. How could she? But just as quickly as it came, he threw the thought out. It didn't matter. He would remain strong and keep mute. After all, he knew she certainly wouldn't trust _him_ if she found out the truth about him.

Still, he heard both desperation and determination in her voice and wondered a little about what kind of girl she was. He could tell that she deeply cared for the boy whom he and his wife helped separate from her. And he could somehow sense the continuing distress she had being apart from him. He had no doubt that she had loved this boy—and still did.

His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the girl approach him again. Seeing the cat in the cage again had distracted her from her own thoughts. This time, he jumped up and hissed in warning.

She recoiled at first, but instead of moving away, she squatted down so that their eyes met. Derek was unnerved by her mesmerizing amethyst eyes. They were intelligent, but also strong, and oddly, gentle at the same time. But he still kept his guard up.

She said to him, "I don't know how you got here in the Real World in the first place. Maybe you just fell into one of those random portals by accident? But then, why were you after that poor defenseless dove?"

Derek jolted with that and unconsciously gasped! He hadn't expected the girl to say anything more about his wife and when she did, he had reacted in worry for Sarah's safety once more…

This time, Sam gasped and pulled away a bit. She hurriedly said, "Did you just _gasp_? It sounded so _human_! But how can that be possible?"

She pulled back even more, slightly spooked by the encounter, however brief. Were her telepathic powers going haywire after all, and maybe she imagined his response? After all, she had no idea if her powers would be permanent or change in any way. Maybe she was just imagining that she had been overshadowed all those times? Maybe she was just giving herself an 'out' when, in truth, it was all of her fault in the end—all the fault of her telepathic powers!

"Maybe…" she muttered., but then, she shrugged off her doubt and said more loudly to herself, "Too many 'maybes', Sam! Grandma said to find the proof and you have only theories! Still, I did _feel_ a shadow ghost's presence just after I threw that ghost out of me….Then, there's that ghost plant….And Spectra! Theories-smear-ries! Some good circumstantial evidence—even if it's farfetched! And I will still somehow convince Danny." Her voice grew more determined when she added, "And I _will _get him back!"

Her last utterance made Derek startle a little and Sam turned at the sound of the rattling cage under his slight movement. And she was surprised by the animal's reactions. He was looking…oddly at her and seemed to be…thinking…

Derek had cocked his head in surprise and was suddenly curious about the human. This girl certainly had spunk. And she must love that boy intensely to be so determined! He thought about his wife once more. He knew he loved her as much, if not more, than this girl loved her boyfriend. And he then realized that Sarah had been the real determined one in all these years. He thought it was he, but it was her. It was _her_ hope that had seen them through all their misery.

He shifted in his uncomfortable thoughts, and his eyes once more briefly met the girl's. This time, they both felt something different, and Sam gasped at the lightening-like flash that erupted in that moment. Derek tried to ignore her reaction. But somehow, he saw a fire of determination and love in her eyes. Yet, he also saw hope. Hope to make amends, to prove her love to that boy who had been driven away by him and his wife. He clenched his jaw.

When Sam had gasped, she could swear that she had seen something incredible when she looked at the lynx! The intellect behind this wildcat's eyes seemed _so human_! And he was full of distrust, and hopelessness. But then, that seemed to change in the next few moments, and she could feel _remorse_ from him. Why? She pulled back, breaking their gaze, shaking her head in disbelief. Now, she was beginning to think more seriously that her telepathic powers were driving her crazy. Her face fell with defeat.

Derek was also jolted that he actually, for some reason, saw some of her thoughts and memories. That this girl was willing to sacrifice everything to help her boyfriend. That she would even be willing to _die _for him. That she also had done so much sacrifice in the past helping this boy do something very important. But those particular memories were unclear to the ghost. Still, he was absolutely sure that the girl was also suffering because she so desperately wanted to find her love now that they had been torn apart.

He felt his heart suddenly burn a little, and he couldn't help the swelling shame that had insisted on accompanying it. He should have known better! That is what had happened to Sarah and him! Others had wanted them apart, but they had not succeeded until that fateful day! And he was just as suddenly aware of how he was feeling now that he was apart from his love. He, too, was sure he was full of as much angst as this girl for being pulled apart from his love Sarah.

But Derek had also noticed that she seemed to somehow sense his feelings. He didn't know why he knew this, but when he did, he somehow began to feel a sense of guilt. It had been wrong of him to keep her in this much turmoil. As wrong as it would be for another who might know how to break their spell to keep him and his wife in turmoil. He felt as if he were as evil as Spectra after all.

And then, the girl pulled abruptly away and he could see her sad change. She looked crushed. He could bear the dishonor no more. He was about to say something, when her cell phone rang.

Derek startled at the sound. What was that contraption? And it was capturing her voice?

"Hello?" she asked.

"Sam! It's Tucker! Get over to my house, fast! There's a big fight just behind it! I hear a lot of ectoplasmic blasts, but I can't see anything…Wait a minute….Valerie is fighting a couple of ghosts—I think it's Spectra and Bertrand! Wait…And now I see Danny! Hurry! I'm going to do all I can do to help!"

"Ohmigosh! I'll be right there, Tucker! Bye!" she said before immediately hanging up and darting to her bureau. She opened its top draw and whipped out her Fenton wrist ray gun. She strapped it on as she dashed out of the room, not at all hearing the wildcat call her name as she headed toward Tucker's home.


	42. Chapter 42 Unplanned Discovery

**A/N: Hello, everybod-eeee! And Happy Birthday, good ol' USA! Tomorrow, of course, is the Fourth of July for all us Americans out there in reader-dom land; and we'll be undoubtedly celebrating our country's Independence Day! I can't wait, too! We're going to have a HUGE barbeque and a HUGE fireworks display! Oh, how I love parties! And, hey! I was thinking. I'm history-challenged, but I am also very curious…Could you wonderful readers out there from other countries tell me when YOUR country's birthday is? I sure would like to know and wish your country a Happy Birthday, too! No, I really mean it! And thanks-ahead of schedule! **

**And now, it's time to get serious. We're still in the throngs of woe with our young heroes, but we all know that comes with the romance package. So, are you ready for more? You are? Well, I just so happen to have that update for ya, then! So, anyway, don't forget that 'IDNOAC' thing, and here comes Chapter 42. Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 42—Unplanned Discovery

Valerie hurried to the school office, anxious to call her father as soon as possible. Thank goodness it was still her lunch time and she wouldn't need a pass to go to the office. She really couldn't handle being here anymore now that her stomach was in knots. And that, of course, was because her heart was broken over Tucker's announcement that they were through.

She stood with hunched shoulders, long face and reddened eyes at the desk, waiting for the school to call her father. The office secretary, who was a very sweet middle-aged woman, readily made the call. She could tell most definitely that the girl was sick. She looked just awful!

Valerie watched the woman closely as she dialed her father's phone. In no time, the office clerk was explaining the situation to the voice on the other end.

"Mr. Gray? This is Mrs. Matterhorn from Casper High….I am sorry, but Valerie just came in and she looks very ill….No, I don't think it's serious, but I think you need to come and get her…You would like to speak to her? Oh, certainly! Please hold a moment…"

She handed the phone to Valerie.

At first, the girl was ready to talk to her father, but as soon as the phone was in her hands, she felt her throat hitch with her turmoil. But she had to get on with it.

"Uhm, hello, Daddy," she barely croaked out. "I really feel bad, so bad that I don't think I can talk much right now. I'll explain it all to you when I get home, OK? And could you, uh, ask Uncle **Red** to come in my favorite **red** vehicle for me?"

Damon frowned a moment. She had no 'Uncle Red'. But then, it dawned on him what she meant. "Oh, sure, Honey. OK. So then, please let me talk to Mrs. Matterhorn, again."

"OK, Daddy, and thank you! I'll tell her," she was able to choke out.

She handed back the phone and gingerly said, "He would like to talk to you again, Mrs. Matterhorn."

The woman took the phone to her ear once more. "I understand, Mr. Gray…Yes, she really looks very ill…..I agree….And, yes, that is unusual, but that would be alright under the circumstances. I hope she'll feel better soon."

The middle-aged woman hung up. She then turned sympathetically to Valerie and gently said, "If you like, you can wait here until your uncle comes to pick you up."

Valerie smiled weakly and replied, "No, that's OK, Mrs. Matterhorn. If you don't mind, I'd like to wait by the door. I think I'll be all right, thank you."

"OK, dear. And please try to get some rest."

Valerie smiled a little once more and nodded just before she turned to leave. But she didn't wait by the door. She quickly left the building, and as soon as she was outside, she darted behind a nearby wide tree. She was a little thankful that it was now snowing because it was heavy enough to effectively shield her from anyone's direct view. Nevertheless, she scanned the area to make sure she was alone. Satisfied that she was, she pushed the hidden button on her bracelet. She instantly transformed into the Red Huntress, and without hesitation, soared upwards, easily penetrating the rapidly falling snow as she headed toward her home.

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Danny continued to soar in the random direction he had chosen when he had left his home. It had begun to snow rather heavily, and he could tell that a snow storm was not too far behind. But he didn't care. His mind was already in its own 'snow storm'. It kept churning over all the events that had happened in the past couple of weeks, and especially today. Everything had happened so fast! He desperately searched for the answer to make _any_ sense of the complete _non-_sense that had unfolded. But his rapidly mounting headache from trying to figure it out muddled his thoughts. He knew what he plainly saw and heard. Yet, somehow, he couldn't accept it, either.

Much as he was still angry—no, hurting—about what Sam had said and did, his _heart _wouldn't let him believe it. He _knew _her! She had been his best friend since he could remember! They had understood each other. More than that, they really had felt the same way about things, agreeing on things that many people thought silly, repressive and old-fashioned now-a-days. And they had been even closer now, in sync in a truly special way that people could only dream about. What about _that_? Didn't that mean anything to her? He had thought so. Then, why did she throw it all away?

"I don't get it!" he suddenly yelled into the grayish-white, snow-filled sky, startling a nearby flock of birds. He tried to come up with some answer, but only one thought kept insisting on being heard. "That _isn't _the Sam I know!"

He stopped in mid-flight at that realization. It _wasn't_ the Sam he knew! Even when she was angry at him—which was usually for good reason—she wouldn't hit this low. She just _wouldn't_! He _knew_ it!

"So, why **did **she do it?" he uttered out loud.

Then, like fire burning in his heart, he knew… Still, he tried to deny what he felt. It didn't make sense. After all, the evidence was too much against her. But there was _something_ inside him fighting against the cold facts. And it relentlessly plagued his mind even as his mind told him to ignore it…But he couldn't ignore it. He couldn't deny… _a truth_, _the_ truth. It was imprisoned in his very bones and he grew weary holding it in. He could feel his soul grow desperate to be heard even when everything that had happened told him to reject it. But then, like a tide breaking on the sand, his heart finally forced his mind to listen.

Immediately, he knew what this truth was: there _**had **_to be an explanation_._

_She said she __**didn't**__ do it,'_ came the reply from his heart. _'She __**couldn't**__,'_ it still insisted, echoing its message to his very soul. _'Remember her face'_, it commanded….And he searched his mind. During those times when he saw her with Armen, she had looked…looked as if she were in a daze. That is, until she spoke this last time. And come to think of it, Armen looked dazed, too. And he didn't even speak _once_ during both encounters that he had witnessed! In fact, he didn't even _respond_! Again, it hit him. Armen looked like he was _overshadowed_!

Danny shook his head as his mind began to make him remember the cold facts again! And they said that the innocence his heart was proclaiming for Sam couldn't be right! His ghost sense would have alerted him. But then…his ghost sense had been wrong at least twice in the recent past. When it went off in front of the school a few weeks ago, and right before his big fight with Valerie, there had been no ghost. He shook his head and he suddenly remembered Sam's face a little over a half-hour ago…The one she had when she had said all those cruel things. He had never seen her look so _evil_ or be so _happy _that she hurt him. The last time he saw that look on her was when….

Jiva!

But how could that be? **He would have known **the shadow ghost—or any ghost—was there before, during and after she had overshadowed Sam!

Now he was totally confused. His headache was getting worse. But it couldn't be from the cold air. It had never bothered him before. He tried to resist the pressure he was suddenly feeling in his mind. But this was an oddly familiar pressure. And he resisted even more. But right after he had some success, his heartache lifted a little and he suddenly felt remorse for having destroyed all those things at home. He didn't know why after all that happened. He _shouldn't_ after all she had said. But he did.

Still, he wasn't sure. And as his logic mercilessly buried the truth echoing from his soul, he muttered, "People change. They get tempted all the time. Sam is no exception, and neither am I, for that matter. But we've been able to resist so much pressure about things that a lot of other people don't think are important any more. What about that? Didn't that count for anything?"

Then another thought crept up. _"Maybe, she just hadn't realized that she didn't want to get any more serious with me until that temptation presented itself. And that temptation was Armen. After all, she had fallen for a guy with an accent before…Maybe she just likes the exotic kind of guys…But what about me, then?" _

But the next thought only made him feel more crushed. She had called him a freak! She sure had made that clear. Not the kind of 'exotic' kind of thing to which he was referring_. _

He flew on, slowing with the weight of his heart. Though she seemed to have made everything crystal clear back then, that was the root of the problem. She hadn't been up front with him about Armen—until she had so brutally thrown it all at him just now. That hadn't been like her, either. Yes, she still had trouble sharing her feelings with him, but maybe that was the best she could do, and she couldn't do anymore…

He blurted out, "But it was getting easier now that we have…"

He didn't want to complete that thought. The hurt had begun again. He resumed his flight, more slowly this time. It felt once again as if his heavy heart had dragged his efforts as he flew onward. And his next sad thoughts also pulled on him…Maybe she felt that they wouldn't ever have any privacy like everyone needed...And there was that other thing. Sam had told him at least before all this about her fear that he might burn out with her, or grow bored should they get too use to each other's thoughts. And, man, she sure hammered that point in that very short while ago! Maybe knowing that got too much for her after all. He could understand that a little. He almost lost his own mind when he first got his ghostly powers, especially in the first year when he could hardly control them. But he had worked it all out, and it was partly because of …Sam—and Tucker. But mostly, Sam.

He sighed. Maybe she couldn't handle _her_ new power _and _dealing with that change _and_ his own changes. With a 'regular' guy, she wouldn't have that problem…except for 'regular' problems. He paused. But wasn't he a 'regular' guy, except, of course, for his superpowers? And except for this unique power they both shared, and their very special love? He had never gotten the impression from her she had thought otherwise…until now.

His head began to whirl with the millions of other thoughts that tried to wrestle for his attention, as he felt his heart grow weary from the emotional bombardment. But one emotion managed to pull itself from the rest of the mire: Misery.

Suddenly, he could feel a sudden drain of strength again, and once more, he stopped in mid-flight, reflexively pulling himself into a tight ball as he hovered in the pain he suddenly felt in the pit of his stomach and the dizziness he felt envelop his brain. And he felt sick at heart. _What was this all about?_

But what he didn't know was that Bertrand had finally found him, using that neat little tracking device he had built into his little machine. And Spectra's assistant had gone right to work when he had located his prey before the boy could increase his speed and escape. But now Bertrand knew that he would be able to prevent that same speed and immediate escape.

The shape-shifter quickly siphoned off even more of the boy's pheromonal energy, now that he had brought not only plenty of vials, but much larger ones. And he had carried them all in a new larger satchel that securely held at least a dozen of those vials. He worked very quickly, even as the boy slowed his flight pace down. In no time, that satchel was over half full of the glowing ghostly pheromones.

Danny groaned in pain, wrapping his arms around himself as Bertrand gleefully bled the boy of more of his precious commodity. This sudden attack had surprised Danny, as it had come so out-of-the-blue. Maybe he had better go home. He had been gone for almost an hour and he still had a ways to go before he would get home.

He turned and headed back.

But, of course, by the time Danny had decided to head home, Bertrand had filled up all the vials in his satchel up to the brink, plus the extra one in the little machine. Now all the shape-shifter needed to do was transfer the contents of all of them to a larger bottle and return for more. He hurried to do that.

When Danny finally flew into his room, he became intangible, allowing the snow that had settled on his head and shoulders to drift to the floor. Without hesitating, he floated right to his bed, plopping hard on it as he did. He really didn't know how he had gotten here, he felt so weak.

Danny looked up at the ceiling and groaned, "Great! Didn't I have enough problems without getting sick on top of it?"

Suddenly he heard a strange rustling nearby. He jolted up out of his bed, ignoring the pain that shot through him. He quickly scanned around him and noticed the slight movement in the corner of his right eye.

He then spied the bird still in her cage.

"Oh, sorry! Forgot you were here!" he said to the ebony dove with a slightly embarrassed, but sad, chuckle. He slowly walked over to her, where she still lay at the bottom of her cage. He said in relief, "But I'm glad to see you're finally awake and that you seem to be all right, right?"

She didn't answer him. For some reason, she was suddenly frightened of him again and because of it, didn't have the courage to say anything. And then, she thought about Derek. She jolted a little. Where was her husband? Did this…this ghost boy know? Did he have something to do with her husband's absence? She shuddered a little. Her husband had warned her that the injured parties would be angry if they ever found out what they had done. And he had also warned her to be more careful about trusting anyone. She paused…But what about doing the right thing? Still, she knew that Derek wouldn't have wanted her to say anything, either. Maybe he was right. Nothing good had come from their dealings with other ghosts. And now that she had witnessed so much, especially of this ghost's power and of that other event, maybe he _wouldn't_ be so understanding if she tried to explain. Maybe he would be angry and throw his wrath at her! Still, her core told her she must tell him. Now, she could not decide. She pressed her head down in shame.

But Danny hadn't noticed any of her reactions. His eyes had inadvertently drifted over toward the pictures and mementos he had destroyed. He heaved a sorrowful sigh.

He started to walk back to his bed when, all of the sudden, his ghost sense was activated! Still facing his bed, he charged up two energy orbs. His eyes quickly darted back and forth, searching for the source of what had triggered his ghost sense. He saw nothing, but heard only the bird as she shifted a little in her cage.

But then, his ghost sense warned him again. His hands still charged with energy, he soared over to his window this time, thinking that maybe the ghost was just outside. He searched frantically to the front, and then above and below his window. But there was no ghost in sight.

Once more, his ghost sense eked out of his mouth. He jumped quickly around this time, his ghostly eyes seeming to peer right through the minute areas of his room, just as he poured more energy into his hands. Then, he heard a small gasp, but he couldn't tell from whence it came.

He searched quickly; still, nothing revealed itself to him. "Darn it" he muttered with frustration. The ghost _had_ to be here! But no matter how many times he looked around, he still came up empty-handed.

But it was then he remembered how his ghost sense had been failing him as of late. In fact, counting these three times right now, this was the _fifth_ time his ghost sense had failed in the past few weeks!

The boy frowned worriedly, "Man, my ghost sense _must_ be going haywire…" But, as he gazed around once more for what now seemed to be an _imaginary_ ghost, his shoulders drooped in disappointment. He just knew he had to be coming down with something awful. But the worry he now felt about this just as quickly jumbled into what he felt was _much more_ awful than being sick: losing Sam. Still, he tried to steal himself. The ghost _must _be here! But he came up empty-handed once again.

He reabsorbed his energy orbs and, heaving a heavy sigh with his failure, finally turned slightly back to the bird in the glowing ghost cage. Still again, his ghost sense triggered and he startled once more.

"What's _with_ this?" he blurted out, exasperated, while charging up two large energy orbs in his hands yet again. But he said it in front of the bird and this time, his gaze finally drifted over to her. He hadn't even given her a fleeting glance when searching for the ghost before. But now, he noticed.

The bird…its body…was _partially_ glowing! How did that happen? And why hadn't it done that before?

He walked closer to her and his ghost sense only confirmed his suspicions.

"**Y-You? Y-You're a ghost**?" he stammered in shock, his face eerily glowing from the reflection of his still active energy orbs.

The dove shivered in fright, unconsciously and slowly backing up against her ghost cage when he yelled like that and threatened her with his power. She was sure he was angry at her now that he had discovered that she was a ghost! And now, she grew even more frightened when she remembered how he could change from a ghost to a human just like that evil Spectra creature. Maybe she had been wrong about him and he was just as evil as that hideous ghost? And now that she thought about it, why had he kept her prisoner here and what did he wanted from her? But still, none of that matter since he seemed to be angry at her.

Suddenly, she felt a small electrical shock and she jump away from the bars. One of her tail feathers had just touched the anti-ghost bars and gave her a small jolt. What kind of magic was this? Then he really must be angry with her since he just gave her a warning zap!

But when Danny saw how frightened the little animal looked, and that it had gotten a small jolt from the ghost cage, he sighed just as he extinguished his energy orbs. Still ignoring how badly he felt, he gently said, "Don't worry, little one. I'm not going to hurt you, even if for some reason you're already a ghost! Uh, when did that happen? You weren't glowing before, —and by the way, why is part of you glowing and the other part isn't?—Still, you didn't cause my ghost sense to go off until right now. I had thought you were dead a couple of days ago…but, you weren't, were you? I knew you had been sleeping a lot, but you didn't look dead. Well, actually you did, but you weren't glowing. In fact, you were looking much better until…today, uhm, mean, right now. But I thought my healing powers had helped you back then. I didn't think they would hurt you more….But maybe they did, I mean, so to make you into a ghost…"

He stopped. He was still so upset about everything and actually feeling ill, now he wasn't even sure what he was saying. _He_ didn't even think he was making sense right now, much less expecting a ghost animal to even fathom one iota of what he was saying! But the bird _had_ been looking better in the past few days….but now she was a ghost? He didn't understand that at all. He thought she had been alive all this time. He glanced up at her again and was wondering why the bird seemed to be shivering…

"_Healing powers?"_ Sarah thought, trembling even more in fright when the ghost boy glanced at her. "_He must be a sorcerer, too! That would explain his ability to change like that Spectra ghost! And did he use his evil magic just now, when I was shocked, to punish me for deceiving him, even if it wasn't my fault that I was hiding that I was a ghost, too?"_

Another wild thought pressed in on her. That was _not_ it. She was sure he didn't know who she was, and he had thought of her as an animal. _"Maybe he captured me for one of his concoctions?" _She barely managed to stifle her gasp._ "Then, what did he do with Derek?" _Now she was even more frightened to utter any word.

But when she dared to look up at him again, she squinted her eyes, puzzled by what she saw. His eyes were still worried over her, yet they were also so…gentle…and sad. Still, she looked around him, scanning the room. She had been unconscious or asleep for these many hours, perhaps days, until he had come in so violently over an hour ago. But when she had been up those brief times, she knew that she hadn't fully recuperated yet and was still too dizzy to see anything clearly, even with her ghostly eyes.

But now that her head was finally clear and there was light enough to see, her thoughts drifted. Where was this sorcerer's cauldron? And his chemicals he would need for his potions? She didn't see anything like that. But what if they were in another room?

She shivered again, glancing back at his bewildered face. How odd. He looked _so_ kind. And he said he had healed her?

Then she startled when he suddenly frowned, briefly fanning her wings outward when she thought she had somehow angered him again.

But he had frowned in confusion when he noticed her actually trying to look around him, as if she were searching for something. Birds—ghost or no ghost—didn't do that kind of thing, did they? He looked sympathetically at her and though he didn't expect her to understand, least of all answer, uttered, "Uh, you are all right, aren't you, little bird? Are you still hurt? That wildcat sure did a number on you. And you haven't eaten or drunk any—duh! Of course you wouldn't have, would you, if you were a ghost… Uh, just when did you become a ghost? Then he jolted at his next wild thought. "And what about that wildcat? Is he a ghost, too?" He shook his head. "I'm so upset, now I'm sounding crazy to me!"

He jolted again when the bird jumped, fanning her wings out in more alarm this time when he had made that comment about the wildcat, her husband. And now Sarah was now wondering if this strange sorcerer had captured or even hurt her husband.

And because of his natural mistake in interpreting her reaction, Danny scrunched his face in worry and said, "Don't worry! I'm not a wildcat!" He then chuckled a little, "As if you can tell the difference! Poor thing! I'm just probably another humongous monster threatening you!"

Sarah looked at him, fear still in her eyes. She was still uncertain on what to do. She was in his power, she knew, but she was still worried about her husband. She wanted to know what became of him. But she also didn't want to get into deeper trouble than she already was should she allowed herself to trust this sorcerer. Sorcerer!

She startled again. There was still the fact that he could turn to ghost or human just as that evil sorceress could! But then, she frowned. No, it was different. She was sure. She searched her mind…Why did Spectra glow with a ghostly aura even when she was _human,_ and he didn't when _he_ was human? She didn't know. But she then a wild thought struck her. Maybe that witch and he were bitter rivals, and that witch had a vendetta against him! And that wicked sorceress had used her and her husband to get back at him! That would explain that horrid plan of that shadow ghost!

The bird now trembled in dread. What if he found out what she and her husband had done to him and his love? That it was their fault that the ghost witch had successfully torn them apart?

Danny noticed how oddly the bird was shuddering and grew concern. "Are you still hurt, little one? Maybe sick?" He suddenly groaned, remembering his own sick feelings. "I hope I didn't give you whatever I got. I certainly feel pretty bad myself! But let's see if I can help you more!"

Just as he said that, he powered up his blue healing power energy which immediately surrounded his hand. But when he noticed that, for some reason, the orb significantly dimmed as he brought it closer to her, Danny instantly frowned with worry and confusion. He, of course, did not know that his healing powers were weakened by the spell placed on the enchanted bird and lynx.

This time, the dove's eyes widened in terror when his face scrunched up. He _was_ angry with her! And what was that new sorcery? This time, she could not suppress her reflexive—and loud—gasp in alarm.

Now it was Danny's turn to startle. He pulled back and his blue energy orb dissipated. That noise coming from the bird sounded like a _girl_ gasping!

He looked at her, his face twisting up into more confusion. Was he going crazy?

"Did you just _gasp_?" he asked, his eyes widening in disbelief. "But you couldn't have, could you?"

He shook his throbbing head and continued, "This headache is making me imagine things! Still, I don't think I'm wrong in seeing that you're a ghost animal. But don't worry! I hope to let you go as soon as you're strong enough to get way away from that wildcat before we let _him_ go. We wanted to make sure he wouldn't hurt you again!"

He stopped and his face dropped when he realized he had said 'we'. Feeling miserable all over again when he thought about Sam, he sadly mumbled, "We're not a 'we' anymore, are we?"

Sarah hadn't heard what he had mumbled. She was reacting to what the sorcerer had said about her husband again. This time, she felt an intense fear for her beloved. She softly uttered her husband's name out loud before she knew it and gasped when she realized she did.

Danny's eyes widened more in total disbelief this time. He definitely heard her that time! He placed his hand on his aching forehead and excitedly said, "You did speak, uh, didn't you? Then he jolted. "That can't be right! Ghost animals can't speak! Well, except for Vlad's buzzards. But they don't count, since he was the one who had created them in one of his insanely twisted experiments. Funny, I suddenly feel sorry for them! I had better forget that!"

Now Sarah felt the overwhelming desire to cry. She should have been stronger! She had just now put her and her husband in even more danger, but especially her husband! And it was **all her fault**! _Everything_ was all her fault! Their wretched condition; their forced association with that evil sorceress; hurting this wizard and his love without a reason save possible revenge of that evil Spectra; and now, for the wicked peril she was sure to be in and was going to be put upon her husband for uttering his name.

She looked up at the boy and was suddenly astounded at what she saw. She could only see sadness and kindness—not anger as she had thought—in his eyes. But she would deserve whatever he would do to her, whatever revenge pleased him, for all the wrong she had caused. Especially all the unjust hurt she had placed upon his and his love. Injustice! The word riveted her soul. Isn't that what she and Derek had endured all these centuries? And she did the very same thing to this innocent boy? Sorcerer or not, she had no right, as _those others_ had no right long, long ago!

She suddenly broke down, whimpering with remorseful waves of sobs at all the pain she had caused to everyone whom had ever come in contact with her. And she wept in intense grief for her husband, fearing that she would never see him again.

She was so distressed, that she had not noticed that Danny had unlocked the cage and reached in, capturing her ever so gently in his hands and drawing her out.

He hesitated at first, before finally softly stroking her head, trying to calm her. "Shh!" he gently commanded. "It's all right! I don't know who or what you are, but don't be frightened. I won't hurt you, I promise! We all have our troubles, you know, and I'm no exception. I've just lost the best thing that has ever happened to me. Someone who I always depended on and was always there for me. Someone I had taken for granted for so long before, for some lucky reason, I finally realized what a real jewel I had right in front of me all that time! She was someone who I trusted with my life…who had become my life."

He stopped at feeling the lump swell in his throat and his eyes moisten. Still, he barely muttered to the bird, "She was my true love, my soul-mate." A single tear fell this time. "I don't understand what happened. I _knew_ she felt the same!"

He sighed sadly, still gently caressing the dove as he did. The dove had stopped her own crying when she heard the change in his voice, and realized that even in his own sorrow, he was comforting _her._

Now that Danny had realized how devastating his loss was, he had suddenly felt not only crushed, but hopeless. And with that, all his doubts that he thought he had overcome came creeping back to him. He sighed in defeat.

Still, he continued, and this time Sarah noticed that his grip around her tightened slightly and his voice was cracking with his emotion, "You know, this is just like my life! Just when I think everything's going well, something bad happens! I've always tried to do the right thing, and now look what it has gotten me! All this hurt, all this… heartbreak. And that is so unfair! I didn't do anything to deserve this! And…and now, if giving Sam up is the right thing to do now, then I really don't care about doing any other thing right anymore!"

He paused and gently stroked the bird again before adding,** "**And do you know the craziest thing about that? I didn't always know what the right thing to do unless Sam helped me see it. She taught me so much about that. And now what am I gonna do? Nothing seems to be important or right anymore!"

He pushed back more tears that were demanding to be let out. And then he noticed that the bird was quivering within his hand, and immediately relaxed his hand a little and brought up the other one to the little dove. This time, he made sure to cup it very gently and brought it up so that they were at eye level, doing a quick inspection of her as he did. He said with concern, "You're all right, aren't you? I didn't hurt you just now, did I? I'm sorry, but I didn't know that I was squeezing you a little too much just now. But you seem to be all right, aren't you?"

Sarah couldn't look into his eyes because of her own guilt. She had only felt a slight squeeze during all his anguish just now. He hadn't hurt her in the least. But she had hurt _him_. After all, she was the one who had caused all this sorrow in him. And now…what she had did was tearing him apart in _more_ ways than in what she had been involved. She shuddered once more, and accidentally uttered, "Oh, no,..."

But this time, Danny grew even more concern over her reaction. She sounded so _human _again! He said, "Did you just say something again? And you're shivering!" He reflexively brought her closer to warm her. But then, he blurted out. "Wait a minute! You're a ghost and you're shivering here? Man, I am going crazy!" His shoulders drooped again and he added, "Just like everything else in my crazy life! But now, I really don't care anymore."

He heaved a deep sigh and unconsciously began to gently caress the dove again, his mind drifting back into his misery. He then said, "I don't know why I'm telling all of this to you. I've probably been hallucinating that you could talk, since I still have this blasted headache! So, how could you possibly understand any of this? Or how hurt I feel, as if my heart has just been ripped out?"

He paused and swallowed his tears. "Oh, Sam… darling…," he barely choked out. But suddenly, he yelled in anguish, and the emotion in his voice seemed to shake the room. "Why, Sam? _WHY?_"

Sarah trembled when she could feel his pain and couldn't take it any longer. She would be willing to have this sorcerer make her meet justice or use whatever evil magic he saw fit to throw at her for all the woeful torment she had cause him and his love. She did understand all of what he was feeling. It was exactly how she was feeling at this moment, now that she dreaded that she had lost Derek. Derek! He wouldn't want her to reveal who she was, but she couldn't take hearing such anguish she had put this boy through for one more second. That gave her the courage this time. She would no longer take any part of hurting this boy anymore.

"Please," she uttered, startling Danny once again, and he almost dropped her.

"Please, Sir Danny," she said, after spreading her wings out in response to his fumble. But he had gently cupped her again, saving her from falling. "Please do not cry anymore! Lady Sam is true, I promise!"

"You _do_ talk! And what…what do you mean?" he asked, quickly wiping his tears away. Still cradling the dove, he walked over to his bed and sat down. He then placed her on top of his pillow, and continued. "And how do you know about me and…Sam?"

"It is my entire fault! Mine and my husband Derek's fault!" she began. She felt her voice quiver as she confessed that, but she forced herself to finally be strong as she spilled it out. "We did you and your lady Sam an unforgivable wrong! We helped an evil sorceress to tear you two apart, and another couple, too. I believe they are your friends, Sir Tucker and Lady Valerie. The wicked creature said that she could break our merciless spell if we helped her do that. We—no, _I_—agreed to help because I had hoped that it would be true. And my husband agreed only because of his love for me. We have suffered so long, that I had forgotten that deviousness and selfishness in any form that they take are unquestionably _evil_!"

She oddly felt a surge of courage as she continued, "Derek was right! I did cause more malevolence by not accepting our fate. It was never a fault of you or your lady Sam. I was wrong to bring this shame upon my husband! But, I will do whatever it takes to make it right! Please believe me when I say that I truly regret it all from the deepest depth of my very soul!"

Sarah suddenly felt sieged with remorse after that, but she tried to hold back her tears.

Danny looked on with bewilderment. He really didn't understand how this little bird could have possibly been involved in Sam's and his break-up.

But his thoughts were interrupted when she pressed on, "Please believe me when I say that Lady Sam never betrayed your trust! We overshadowed those other two innocent children where we found you all in the Real World. We forced them—I believe their names were Armen and Alice—to put a wedge between you and your lady, all at the command of an evil sorceress by the name of Penelope Spectra, and her wicked servant named Bertrand.

"Spectra!" Danny growled, unconsciously fisting his hands in anger. His mind suddenly began to whirl with possibilities…possibilities that could finally make some sense of all this.

The dove startled at his response, but he didn't notice.

He was too upset with himself at the ghost bird's news. He should have known! Wasn't his heart burning with the truth about Sam all along, but he denied it?

But then, he looked at the dove. He finally responded to the dove's last remark, and his voice was unquestionably angry, "But how did Spectra do that? I would have known that you or any other ghost was near or overshadowing a human!"

The dove trembled when she felt his anger. Her fear had come true! He was going to punish her! Still, she deserved whatever he would do to her because of her misdeeds. Her voice shook as she replied, "Y-Your power to do that was useless against Spectra's magic! She had a special potion—her servant made it—which they got from some plant in a land in the Ghost Zone called Pandora's Maze. It somehow masked our spectral energies—our ghostly auras—so that you could not detect us. I did not understand why she did that, but now I do! She must have wanted to keep you from discovering the truth!"

Danny paused, trying to piece everything together. He frowned at the dove and angrily demanded, "And _you _overshadowed Sam?"

"No! No! I did not! My husband told me that Spectra did that herself before you found us!" she said, trembling at the tone of his voice.

But that was _two_ days ago!" Danny yelled, causing Sarah to jump again. "But what about **today**?" But then he answered his own question when he realized the answer. He chuckled a little in embarrassment. "Of course, it couldn't have been you when you've been in that cage for the past two days! It must have been Spectra who did that to Sam today, the witch!"

"I do not doubt that, Sir Danny! She had taken much time to make her wicked plans. And she was so eager to get something of value from you. I do not remember the name, but what she said she needed would help her keep her youth."

"She would do that! She wants our misery!" Danny excitedly continued.

But Sarah frowned before adding, "I do not think that was the word she used. It was phera…or something like that. I am sorry. I know nothing of magic!"

"Magic?" Danny echoed. "Spectra just conjures up evil, not magic!"

"I do not disagree that she is very wicked. But she wanted to take those things from you to hurt you…badly," the dove continued.

He smirked a little, which made her frown in confusion. He then said, "Well, I'm not surprised. She and about a bazillion other ghosts are always trying to do that!"

"That is awful, Sir Danny!"

"Yeah, I know. And Spectra's a pretty bad ghost, but all she does when she takes my misery is make me feel depressed. It doesn't hurt me."

Sarah blinked in confusion, not understanding what he meant by that or how he could take all this so lightly. But, of course, she didn't know that he had encountered Spectra a few times before.

"But she said she could not only hurt you, she could…destroy you when she took those phero-things from you. I am sorry that I cannot recall the name. But she was so certain," the small ghost insisted.

Danny looked at her more soberly when he could tell that she was serious. "Well, OK, I'll keep that in mind, though I do not understand how she could do all that."

"Then please allow me to explain, Sir Danny," the dove pleaded.

He chuckled in embarrassment and replied, "You don't have to call me that, you know. 'Danny' would be just fine."

"I am sorry, Sir, but I cannot make myself say less of you. It is the least I could do to for all the hurt that I caused you," the dove sadly said. "And, by your leave, I beg you to lend me your ear for my unworthy explanation."

Danny bit his lower lip when she had said that, especially when her voice had seemed so somber. He slowly nodded for her to go on.

"I do not know what her evil plans are now, but I will tell you all that I know now. I am ashamed once more, but like I told you, at Spectra's bidding, my husband and I had done all that wickedness with your friends. And, of course, with the despicable way Derek and I used those other two innocent young ones in order to try to wedge discord between you and your love. But even after all of that, she was not satisfied. She had her evil servant to spread wicked falsehoods about your lady Sam. But there was more…That evil Spectra's plans also would have included using us once more to make sure that you and your lady would be torn from each other once and for all. But we had escaped first; and then, we got into another fight with that wicked sorceress' servant after he had pursued us. We were injured and fell into a hole which brought us into your world. And then, you accidentally found us."

She paused and looked at him.

Danny blinked back her, uncertain on what to say. Her story was almost unbelievable! Still, he remained silent and gave her a short nod to continue.

She swallowed the lump she now felt in her throat. She wasn't certain if he believed her. Still, she continued, "Anyway, what is really important for you to believe is that your lady Sam tried to resist Spectra. That evil creature had said something about how hard it was to overshadow her each time!"

Danny now bit his lower lip, regretting once more for having doubted his girl. Yet, he didn't understand how Sam had done that. And then he realized that Sam mustn't have known that she had been fighting Spectra the whole time or she would have told him. He startled at that thought. How could he have doubted his Sam? She _would have_ told him, like she told him about _everything else_ that she knew about all those incidents that caused them to break up! He suddenly felt a stronger wave of remorse over his self-generated accusations about his wonderful girl.

But Sarah interrupted his thoughts. "But I did overshadow the hapless girl named Alice. And Derek overshadowed the poor boy named Armen!"

"Derek?" Danny queried

"He is my husband," she sadly said.

"Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, I had forgotten. And where is he now?"

"I do not know. He is the lynx that you found accompanying me."

"That lynx is your husband?" Danny asked in surprise. "Sorry, but how can that be? Uh, anyway, I didn't think ghost animals could overshadow humans. I guess theoretically, it could happen, but…"

He suddenly stopped himself, aware that he didn't have time to talk about that. He chuckled in embarrassment again and added, "Sorry about that! But, anyway, just so you know. He is OK and Sam is taking care of him."

The dove felt something inside her jump in relief when he told her about her husband. But she wasn't going to ask him to take her to him. She did not deserve any kindness from him. But, then, she recalled something very important and she was more than happy to give the boy what she would hope would assure him of his lady's loyalty.

"Oh, my! How could I almost forget? Lady Sam and Sir Tucker came here. I believe they were searching for you, but you had left moments before! But do you see, sir Danny? She is true to you! Her heart yearns to be close to yours once more!"

Danny's eyes had widened in surprise; but just as quickly, a small light of hope lit in those green orbs. Sam had come! —And Tucker! She did care! This really was one of Spectra's schemes after all!

Well, he would not allow that witch and her snippy assistant to get away with this!

"Sir Danny? Does that not please you?" the dove asked, confused by his lack of reaction.

"Oh, yeah! Thanks for telling me! You have no idea how much better it makes me feel that she—and Tucker—are looking for me!" he said with a bright grin. But then, it slipped into a more sheepish one as he added, "I'm gonna have to go find them. I'm not the easiest guy to track down when I get… upset. But, um, I was hoping you would tell me a little more about you, first. I was wondering…" He paused a moment before just coming out with it, "why is it, exactly, that you can talk?"

She gave him another slightly bewildered look, but it melted quickly when she finally comprehended the question he just asked her. And, suddenly, she felt compelled to answer _any_ question he asked of her, even when she was sure she could not check her emotions any longer.

"Firstly, I must thank you for helping my husband and me when we were in such dire need of assistance," she began; but her voice began to quiver the more she spoke. "But as in answer to your query: our story is a very long, sad one. And, it is truly **not** important now. You should go find and tend to your love. The way you talk of your lady and from what I could see during the brief moment she came to your abode, she must be as sorrowful as you are! I cannot bear to think about what torment I have caused you both any longer! I will do whatever you say to ease the situation!" She finally could not hold it in any longer and suddenly covering her head with her outstretched wings, began to cry again.

Danny looked at her in surprise. And suddenly, his heart was moved to pity. Yes, she and her husband had done him and Sam wrong, but the dove was obviously remorseful about what she had done. And she was willing to help him now in spite of all that she had done.

"No, please, don't cry! And I want to thank you…" he began, and his voice was no longer angry, but was tender.

"Y-you w-want to _t-thank_ me?" she gasped through her sobs, lowering her wings just before she spoke. "B-But I had cut you to the heart!"

"But I can see how sorry you are and how brave you were to tell me the truth. And, I thank you for that! You have lifted this huge weight off of me and you have no idea how that feels."

"Oh, but I yearn to know!" she sadly replied.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Please, Sir Danny, do not burden yourself any longer! You must go!"

"You are right! But when I come back, I want to help you and your husband."

"To help _me_? And Derek?" she said, blinking in confusion. "I do not understand. Why?"

"Because somehow I have a feeling that you are not in your…condition through your own fault. Some…wrong must have been done to you…and your husband."

"You are right," she confirmed. "But it does not matter any more. What is important is that you fly to your love."

"But I must understand what has happened to you before I go so that I can explain it to Sam. My…lady would want to know, too!" He insisted with a weak, but encouraging, smile.

She nodded sadly, "As you wish. I will do whatever you bid if that will make amends with you."

Finally turning back to his human form, Danny waited for her to begin.

But she jumped at his transformation, spreading her wings in fear. She had not expected that, only to immediately think that he was about to throw magic at her after all.

He noticed and asked in concern, "What's wrong?"

"I am sorry. I was frightened again. I thought you were about to punish me with your magic! Not that I did not deserve it."

"Magic?" he asked in surprise. Then he chuckled and said, "You don't think I'm some kind of wizard, do you?"

Her eyes widened and he knew by that look that she did think that!

He chuckled again and assured her, "I am not a sorcerer, wizard, or anything like that! But, I am, uhm, half-ghost and half-human. I promise to tell you my story once everything is over with, OK?"

"As you wish," she replied, sighing just before she was to begin her sad tale...


	43. Chapter 43 Sarah and Derek's Tale

**A/N: Well, how is everyone? I hope you had a great Fourth of July! We sure did! And I thank the readers who responded to my question last week! I'd like to give a special hoop and holler to the representatives of Brazil and South Korea for letting me know when their country's birthday are. Now I feel a little smarter thanks to them! And, BTW, in order to educate everyone else, Brazil's Independence's Day is September 7th and South Korea's Independence Day is August 15th! Any other volunteers out there? **

**Anyhow, time to get back to the story. Again, I thank all you wonderful readers, especially those who gave me a review! I really appreciate your thoughts!... So enough ado! Don't forget the 'IDNOAC' thing and here is Chapter 43, which happens to be one of my personal favs! Hope you enjoy it, too!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 43—Sarah and Derek's Tale

Danny listened intensely, curious to know what had happened to Sarah and her husband so as to understand why they would do what they did to him and Sam.

She slowly began, "My name is Sarah. I was once Princess of the Kingdom of Lagot. And I was the only daughter of King…" She suddenly paused. It pained her more than she thought it would. To relive the old wounds that was caused by these memories. Still, she pressed on, "…the only daughter of King Guérart of Lagot and Queen Adelena of de Acastre. When I breathed in the Real World, I lived many centuries earlier than you…in the seventeenth century to be precise. My father's kingdom was of moderate size and riches, yet, it was insignificant. But my father did not think it were so. And in the end, he wished it to be more powerful. And he knew how he was to do that."

She blushed just before she continued, "Please do not think me vain, Sir Danny, when I continue. I only tell you this for this reason: it is because of this perception of me that I was to be doomed."

He nodded in agreement, even though he was clueless about what she meant. It wasn't long thereafter, however, that he did understand to what she was alluding.

She continued, and she wondered if he could see any hint of her blush as she pressed on, "Many in my realm thought I was the most beautiful. I had long, ebony hair as fine as silk and shining as black velvet, not unlike other maidens. My eyes were as you see them now, as green as the fresh blooms of the tender spring grasses. I was well-bred, taught to love and be gracious to all my subjects. I tended well to my pious duties and responsibilities. I never failed or shamed my parents with my behavior during the tender, fleeting moments when I walked upon the soft, sweet earth."

She sighed at the memory. But she continued, "Of course, the time came for me to marry, and my father was quick to send out the proclamation. Many wooers came from throughout the countryside, seeking to win my hand."

"But two suitors in particular would seal my doom. One you will soon recognize. He was a young prince with hair as black as midnight and eyes as russet and warm as the leaves in late autumn. He went by the name of Derek, Prince of the Kingdom of Adhémar. He was the son of King Victor of Adhémar and his queen, Esa of Blakwell. But, alas, the King and Queen had died from an epidemic of the plague. Derek was spared, but he had to go to live with the brother of his father, whose name was Leovold, because Derek was not of age at the time of his parents' deaths. His uncle became Protector of Adhémar, then, and Derek would be King of it one day."

Sarah blushed even more as she remembered her first sight of whom would become her husband. But she was then relieved that the ghost boy in front of her couldn't have possibly noticed any color change in her face. She pressed on with her tale nevertheless. "I think I had loved Derek from the moment I first saw him. Not only was he handsome, he was very noble and brave. He took his station very seriously and prepared himself carefully for his responsibilities. But his kingdom was very small, and my parents—I should say, my father—did not want me to take such a husband. I confided in my father about my wishes, but Derek's kingdom held hardly any riches to offer him. My father tried to discourage my feelings for the young Prince of Adhémar. Still, I would not be satisfied and refused all suitors presented to me."

Danny listened attentively as she continued.

"Then, one day, several months after I had met Derek, a powerful and much older king from a distant land came. He had heard of my virtues, I suppose, but I do not really care why he had come then or now. He was Raudolf of Middelham. He, too, had raven hair, though it was streaked with age; but his eyes were of the coldest, dull grey, as if they were born on a dreary winter day."

She sighed in sadness at her next words. "And I know that his heart was just as cold. After all that had happened, I found out that he only cared for me as he would a trophy propped on one of the walls of his mighty hall. And by the marriage, he would be heir to all the riches of my father's kingdom."

"King Raudolf pressed my father for my hand; but at first, my father did not give him a forthright answer. I supposed it was because of the pleading of my dear mother. She knew of my heart in the matter, and she did not like or trust King Raudolf."

"Still, King Raudolf would not be denied. He came once more to my father's castle, impatient for an answer. When my father still hesitated, Raudolf threatened to invade my father's kingdom and take me by force!"

Danny's eyes widened at the news. He knew that those things happened back then, but he never had met anyone who had actually lived it. But he kept silent, encouraging her to continue.

"My father then relented to King Raudolf and gave him his word that my hand was his. The King went back to his castle to make haste to prepare for the wedding. When I heard of the oath that my father had given to King Raudolf, I was mortified, crushed to the heart of my father's decision. It was then that I confessed to my father that I had been meeting secretly with Derek all those months and my heart was sealed with his. My mother knew of this all along, and she knew I had not shamed her as I had never done before or after I met my love. I had promised to have my nursemaid accompany me on each visit, and Derek's uncle would only allow us public meetings, and only with Derek's manservant nearby observing all in the utmost discreetness. So, do not worry. Our virtues were always protected, I assure you!"

This time, Danny blushed, but didn't comment.

She felt her face flush more as well, but pressed on, "My father was livid when he heard my words of pledge to Derek! But, he would not give into my wishes! Underneath, he was weak and feared the ruthless King Raudolf. He told me that I was to become King Raudolf's wife!"

"That's terrible!" Danny finally blurted it out.

"'Tragic' is more the word, Sir Danny," she softly corrected him, and she felt her eyes suddenly grow heavy from the tears she was trying to hold back. "For tragedy was what was in store for me and my love."

He swallowed hard, but nodded for her to go on.

She sighed when she saw his gesture, and continued, "I was beside myself at my father's firm decision. Though it was my duty to obey him, I, for once in my life, could not. I sent word to Derek that I was going to go to him that very night, and to become his wife, even if it meant banishment from my own family." She let a tear fall when she said that.

"Derek was true and he came for me in the secret of the night. We went immediately to his home and knowing that we had the sympathy and permission of Derek's uncle, we made our plans. We set out for the other home of Derek's uncle in another land, and sent out our servants to search for a clergyman. But it took a couple of weeks to find a priest who would be willing to marry us under the circumstances. I do not blame them, however, for their hesitation, for I did not have permission from my father to marry Derek. But, finally, thank the heavens, we found a sympathetic ear and we eagerly prepared our quiet, simple wedding."

"In the meantime, my father had sent his troops to find me. He had tried to stay the anger of King Raudolf for not presenting his bride to him and begged King Raudolf for a little time. The evil king reluctantly gave in, and all the while, my father's troops searched for me. But they did not know of the house in which Derek's uncle had once lived before coming to Adhémar, and did not know we had temporarily fled to it. They could not find us."

Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat as best as she could as she pressed on, "But then, Derek's uncle sent word that it was safe for us to return. We had all thought it was safe, but we were wrong. When we returned in secret with the priest, we had not known at that time that spies had been planted by my father when he had first known of my connections to Adhémar many months earlier; and it was they who had sent us the message that all was safe for us to return."

"Good Protector Leovold was surprised to see us return so prematurely, and denied sending for us. Even he had not suspected such deception from my father; because, you see, Derek's uncle had always been a trustworthy and gentle man. He was so kind, his servants happily bid to him their diligent work; and they, too, had been fooled by the spies. And those spies quickly returned and reported to my father all that they had seen."

"Finally, the evil king's patience was spent and he returned with force to my father's castle. He demanded audience with my father in his very chambers, demanding that he present me to him at that exact moment. My father then told him all that had happened. Enraged that my father would betray him, King Raudolf was set to lay siege upon my father and his kingdom."

This time, Sarah stopped and tried to wipe her eyes on one of her wings. She swallowed hard again, and took a deep breath, trying to steal herself. But when she finally spoke, her voice betrayed her heartbreak. "But my father, of course, did not betray him. Instead, he betrayed me!"

Danny gasped when he heard that. He couldn't believe that any father would do that to any of his children.

She heaved a big sigh and ignored another tear as it fell. Her voice quivered, but she made herself go on, "My…father told him of the reports of his spies and that he had sent a message to his spies to bring me hither to his castle without delay. He was going to allowed King Raudolf to take me against my will!"

Danny gasped again in disbelief. But he didn't utter a word.

Sarah waited until she was sure that the boy didn't want to say anything. She heaved a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions. Then, she continued, "But King Raudolf was not satisfied with that news. He was, after all, a very impatient man. He left some of his forces at my father's castle and made haste to Castle Adhémar—which, you remember, belonged to Derek and his family—with his small, but powerful, army."

"Derek's Uncle Leovold had learned from his scouts that an invasion was on its way, perhaps within the day. He hurriedly told us of it and we immediately begged the priest to perform the ceremony right then and there. He agreed and we swore our vows. We knew we had not much time, but we begged them to give us our wedding night and then we would flee. They reluctantly agreed."

"But then, the invasion came sooner than we thought, and we found out later that the castle had been laid open for attack because of the very same spies and accomplices my father had woven into the household! But even amidst the chaos of the assault on the castle, Derek's uncle had managed to smuggle us out right away, and told us he would face King Raudolf on his own."

She paused and sadly smiled at the memory of Derek's uncle. Protector Leovold had been a great and brave man!

She sighed before continuing, "We thought we had escaped. But King Raudolf had planted some of his men along each escape route, and we were found out! There was a mighty struggle with our entourage. Derek fought bravely to keep them from me, but he was injured in the fight and left for dead!"

Danny's eyes widened when she said that. "What happened then?" he finally asked.

"Derek did not die that night. His uncle's scouts found him and secretly brought him back to the stronghold of his castle. Once King Raudolf had me in his possession, he no longer cared about Protector Leovold, or Castle Adhémar. His army abandoned its siege, and he returned with me to Castle Middelham that very night."

"In the meantime, once I arrived at that vile place, I flew to the sanctuary of my chambers. There I stayed, refusing in earnest King Raudolf's entry into it! I am most thankful to the heavens that he did not force himself into my room. At least, I give him that. But when he finally told me he would let me go if I would but talk to him, I allowed him in. I have tormented myself all these many years on how foolish I was to have trusted him."

Danny squirmed a little, disquieted with the anticipation of what she might say. After all, she had already alluded to the fact that it was not going to end well.

"I can stop if you wish," she softly said when she noticed his reaction.

"No, please don't! I told you that I wanted to know what happened."

"As you wish, kind Sir. Anyway, King Raudolf professed his love for me right then. I was taken by surprise by his gesture, as he had never shown any tenderness in all the time he had attempted his courtship with me. But I could not return his advances. Even when I feared my love had perished in that ambush, I told the King right away that I was now married to Derek and could never give my love to him!"

"He, of course, was enraged and told me that I was still to be his wife all the same! He left me without another word, and I trembled in dread."

"And after only a few days since I was taken, Derek had recovered from his attack. But I did not know that at the time, of course. He had been made without consciousness for those few days, but had also suffered only a small gash on his head. When he learned what had happened to me from his uncle, he immediately set out to go rescue me. If only he had not!"

"But you can't blame him!" Danny gently objected. "He loved you. And he was your husband."

She sniffed a little, and replied, "That I do not deny! And I do not blame him. But it was because I professed my love for him to my father and to King Raudolf that he was to be doomed. I would have accepted my fate and sadly performed my duties if I only knew what the future would bring to him!"

Danny thought a moment before he remarked, "I don't think you should blame yourself, either,…Lady Sarah. Things got way out of hand for you."

"Thank you for your kind words, Sir Danny. But I cannot help but grieve for what I will now tell you. As I said, Derek came to rescue me. But King Raudolf was waiting for him!"

She paused at her sudden thought and felt she needed to say it. She continued, "You remember, do you not, that unbeknownst to Derek's uncle, my father had planted some spies in Castle Adhémar? I found out too late that my father had made them pledge an oath to King Raudolf as well. And so, once again through my father's betrayal, King Raudolf knew that Derek had recovered and would come once he was told of my fate."

"All this while, I remained in my chambers and continued to deny the evil king's advances. He must have gone mad with hateful jealousy and rage, because as Derek was nearing the castle, King Raudolf summoned all his guards and even his sorcerer. There he lay in wait until Derek had entered the grounds of the castle."

"When the time was right, King Raudolf's men lay hands upon my love and brought him bound and secured within their clutches. Then, the King had his maidservants bring me before him.

"When I saw Derek, I gasped in relief that he had not perished. But my heart was then immediately seized with dread for his safety. But when he saw me, he stood erect and proud there in the midst of the whole court. He would not be cowered by King Raudolf and thereby shame me into doing the bidding of the evil king. Still, the King threatened to kill Derek by his own hand right in front of me if I refused him any longer." She dropped her head to her bosom at the memory.

"No!" Danny couldn't help but blurt out. "How could he be so cruel?"

She slowly lifted her head, but instead of looking at him, stared straight ahead, as if lost in thought as she continued. "Indeed, how could he? But Derek insisted to me not to relent. The King was enraged with that effrontery, and unsheathed his sword. The King was about to slay my husband when the sorcerer intervened. He was appalled by the scene. Why, I cannot say. After all, this sorcerer had dealt in the dark arts himself and had done many wrongs. I can only suppose that there was a spark of goodness left within him for him to have braved his interference."

Sarah then glanced at Danny; and seeing that he seemed totally enthralled with her story, sighed with woe. Still, she pressed on, "The sorcerer told the King that if he killed Derek, innocent that he was, the King would be cursed for eternity. At first, the King hesitated, but then decided that he would accept those evil consequences!"

Danny's eyes widened with her words, but he said nothing.

"Again, the sorcerer intervened, going so far as to stay the very hand that would have slain my love! At first, the King almost brought his piercing blow upon the sorcerer. But the sorcerer pleaded in desperation with the king, imploring him to hear about his plan, a plan crueler than death itself!"

"That intrigued the King and he listened. They went aside to confer. The sorcerer had told him of a mighty spell he had been perfecting. One that was very unique. Once told of the sorcerer's idea, the King was well-pleased and bade the sorcerer to commence with his spell. And so, they returned to where Derek and I were."

"The sorcerer, who was the mightiest in the entire land, waved his wand, and it whirled as a striking cobra. He cast his spell upon Derek, turning him into a lynx. And because his wand had touched Derek on his head, his fur became as ebony as his own hair, but his eyes remained auburn."

She paused and swallowed, sniffing as she did. "I can still hear the wicked king's words and see his heartless face as he laughed at the transformation! He said, 'The mighty Derek, whose bravery is as a lion's, but in reality is as insignificant as a rodent! I am pleased with the compromise that you will be a small cat, wild only in the pretense that you thought you could match strength with me!'"

She stopped again and was quiet for a few moments, trying to steel herself once more. Danny was about to say something, when she suddenly said, "The guards—though disquieted about the event—immediately pinned Derek to the floor, lest he use the new weapons thrust upon him by the sorcerer. They quickly bound him and kept guard over where he lay."

"But they needed not have struggled with my husband. He was made stuporous by his transformation and was, therefore, unable to resist…I nearly swooned at the sight, but I quickly recovered. My heart was suddenly stirred with righteousness and courage. I accused the King and his sorcerer of not fearing God! And I told him that I had taken my sacred marriage oath with Derek, and that I would rather have a fate such as my love than be without him!"

"King Raudolf then understood that I would never give myself to him! But he thought of a more malevolent plan for me! He once more conferred with his sorcerer in secret. Only after a few moments, they returned. And, again, I will never forget his hideously twisted face as it uttered his heartless words: 'Yes, you are right, my dear. You would never be happy without your love. Therefore, I will have my wizard grant your wish. But not as you will. You will be neither together nor apart from this moment onward!'"

"The King gave the sorcerer his command. The sorcerer cast his spell upon me at that moment, and his wand also first kissed me on my head. And, so, as you can see, Sir Danny, that since I once also had ebony hair, I became a dove as black as coal. And, sadly, King Raudolf had been right in his words! We were neither together nor apart as we were!"

She sighed with her misery. Still, she was not finished. "In some ways, we would have been content to be in our state. We felt we would be together in the end, and it was only a matter of time. But then, the cruel news was then told to us! We were to be hunted as the animals we now were! At first, again, we were somewhat relieved. Our time to be together forever would come sooner than we had hoped!"

Danny swallowed hard again. They had been _very_ brave, and would have had chosen death to breaking their marriage vows?

"We were taken to different parts of the woods and released. At first, we thought we might be spared, for no one seemed to pursue us. I tried to search for Derek, as he, me. But then, somehow, the hunters were there when we spied the other. I was about to be given an arrow when Derek leapt right in front of me and the cruel dart plunged right into his heart! I screamed in dread, my own heart tightening with his blow. I quickly soared over to him. But it was too late, and as I let my tears overwhelm me, I heard his last words, which turned out to be a prayer, a desperate prayer to allow him to protect me even after he took that arrow for me. With his dying breath, he wanted only to be with me, for our marriage had been swept away as easily as a young sampling in a tempest. I cried to the heavens for mercy, begging that I not be separated from my love from such malice. I was answered right away, for another merciful arrow had found me right after that!"

Danny shuddered at the thought! These two had suffered so much!

"But, alas, as you can plainly see, it still was not over! The sorcerer indeed had a unique spell, one conjured with the soulless evil of the black arts! One into which he had put his own very malevolent soul! His despicable curse was so powerful that even death could not unbind it! And as you can see, the sorcerer had undeniably proved himself to be the very mightiest of wizards. Our souls were forever bound to roam the afterlife with the curse of his spell in the state that you now see upon us. So, you see, we have been together but apart… ever since our… our own wedding night!"

"Your wedding night?" Danny gasped. "You mean…"

"Yes. We had to flee before our vows could be unified. In the end, we had no chance to have our wedding night."

Danny blushed a little, but then uttered, "Wow. No honeymoon. That stinks…I-I mean, that's, like, pretty important, between a husband and wife right after they get married, right?"

The dove looked up at him in surprise. "I cannot believe that you **have just uttered such a thing**! I thought you would understand after all you have been through. Surely, your love for Lady Sam transcends the obvious."

Danny blushed furiously, knowing what that 'obvious' thing she was talking about. He was taught the right thing about _that _part of marriage. No argument there. Still, he was a normal teen and toying with thoughts about it was just as natural.

"I, uh… It's not what I meant," Danny mumbled out, rubbing his neck. "I definitely understand that love is more than…, uhm, _that_. But, I just thought it was different once you get… married."

The dove suddenly gave the boy the look of a scolding mother. "Sir, Danny, do I have to tell you that soul-mates know the right and respectful thing by each other at _all_ times? Indeed that marriage is a sacred step between two soul-mates. However, love should be foremost to everything before and after marriage in order for it to flourish. And it should surely surpass the pleasure of the flesh."

She then bowed her head in disappointment before raising it up once more and continued, "But perhaps I have expected too much and treated you unjustly once more."

Danny blushed a little more at her slight reproach.

Still, she pressed on, looking beyond Danny as she did, "Yes, we are of two different times and worlds. But love is above all that. Derek and I love each other for who we are underneath. In our time, we were never allowed even a kiss, always guarded from temptations so that we could give to each other without shame when we had finally made our vows. Not that we did not understand and desire the pleasures. We just cherished guarding our love and dignity more so."

She suddenly chuckled sadly. "Is it not ironical, then, Sir Danny, that we are animals now who love as humans, yet knew not to be as animals when we were humans? Not that others in our time had never lowered themselves to act like animals and give into their impulses, because the shameful truth is that there were certainly many that did. How sad that they had not realized such as we that human love is more than what mere animals can convey or desire? How even crueler, then, that we were left in this pitiful state!"

Danny couldn't say anything to that.

This time, she looked him right in the eyes and said with conviction intermixed with sadness, "But we did not let that deter our love. Even in death, we were not even granted the chance for that blissful first kiss, except as what we can now share as we are. But we understood that it did not matter, because we never had any shame in our love for each other before our sad state. Even when all hope seemed to have failed us, we did not despair of our love. And that is why we have been able to endure the cruelty thrust upon us all these hopeless years. Had we, instead, corrupted our love while we existed in the Real World, we could not have endured everything, because we would not have understood the meaning of sacrifice. Perhaps, your time has lost that meaning, and does not feel this way anymore. I am sorry."

Suddenly, she began to whimper, mourning the lost of the future, a future which she now realized must not understand how special human love was. She felt her heart ache with the sting, all of the sudden feeling as if all her suffering had been in vain, maybe even ridiculed by those of today who did not believe how precious and frail a flower human love was, and thereby, had no heart, no commitment, to protect and nurture it.

Both Danny and she remained silent for several moments.

But the boy understood what she was saying, and not wanting to add to her burden, quietly shared his feelings, "Just so you know, there is hope today. I don't think we're much different than you, really. I feel the same way as you, and I know Sam does, too."

Sarah smiled a little and sighed in relief. She had had the feeling that he was special, and because he was, she was sure that his Lady Sam was, too. She was barely able to hold her tears back as she said, "Then, I am comforted to know that the newest of loves has not forgotten what we have sacrificed for you to understand the meaning of a true heart."

They both paused again and Danny was very much moved by her story. He stood up and looked down at the beautiful dove. He gently said, "Thank you, Lady Sarah! I now totally understand why you and your husband acted like you did when Spectra tricked you. You guys have really had it rough! And I have to say that I might have done the same thing under your circumstances! And I feel very guilty about how I treated Sam! I feel bad about everything now! I have been just as heartless in how I thought of her when I somehow knew the truth."

"Please do not be so harsh on yourself, kind Sir. With matters of the heart, you can be subjected to heartache. Everyone is not immune to it. It is just that some are more blessed than others that its agony is not for long. And, really, did you not just say that your heart burned with the truth? That is because even in the midst of your turmoil, your love for your lady helped you carry the burden and even overcome it. You are then truly blessed."

Danny smiled weakly at her comment. She was, of course, right. "Thank you again for being so kind, Lady Sarah, even if I didn't deserve it," he finally said. "But, I want you to know that…that… _my lady_ Sam and I, and our friend, uhm, Sir Tucker, will find a way to help you."

She, too, smiled weakly and said, "Now _I_ thank your kindness, Sir Danny. But, I do not think you can help us. I cannot blame you, once again, when you do not understand yet what I mean. You see, a strange thing happened to us several years after we had gone into the Ghost Zone. We stumbled upon the spirit of the sorcerer himself! He had managed to track us down. How, I truly do not know. But I suppose it was because of more of his magic! Still, he seemed so relieved to have found us."

She paused at the memory, but then continued, "At first, you can understand that we did not want to have anything to do with him."

Danny unconsciously nodded in agreement, before sitting back down at her side.

She continued, "But he followed us, begging us to let him confess to us! He said he did not have much time. He had regretted all his past actions; and at first, we suspected it was for fear for his own afterlife in the end. We, of course, did not want to hear of it. After all, he had caused us so much harm! But he pleaded so earnestly, so desperately, we relented to give him our attention."

"He then told us everything that had transpired that we did not know of when we were alive, which is why I was able to recount all of which I have just told you. And he told us all that had come to pass after our demise. How more tragedy begot tragedy over our sad tale."

She whimpered softly as she recalled the events. She still pained at them so, even though the memories and the sting should have long faded. She tried to speak, but her emotions momentarily choked her voice.

Danny saw her reaction, and thinking how much the memory of his own betrayal to _his_ love stung as well, was quick to say, "It is all right, Lady Sarah, if it hurts too much to say more, I understand."

She cleared her voice and blinked the tears away. She then managed to utter through her cracking voice, "No, I must tell you, Sir Danny. Somehow, I feel it has helped heal my own transgression against you."

He nodded slightly, unconsciously biting his lower lip as he did.

She nodded back weakly and continued, "The sorcerer told us that King Raudolf went mad shortly after being told of the manner of our death and what was last uttered by each of us in the end. He went on a rampage, his army slaughtering those in his castle who were unlucky not to have escaped before the power of his derangement. But the sorcerer himself had flown with his life and hid in the hills."

"Then King Raudolf, tragically, extended his tempest to Castle Adhémar! Derek's uncle and all within his stronghold perished before the maniacal might of the insane King Raudolf. The castle had been betrayed once again and was caught unaware and unprepared because of those vile spies of my father. But, by some ironical twist of fate, those spies were also not spared from the rage of King Raudolf. And the castle was left in smoldering ruins, so unjustly stained with so much innocent blood that it never was to be occupied ever again from that day forward….King Raudolf then threw himself to his own destruction, meeting justice at the bottom of the cliff on top of which once sat the noble Castle Adhémar…"

Sarah paused and remained quiet for a moment. She surprised herself at her next thought. She no longer had any hatred for the evil king. She now felt only pity for him. Then another thought crossed her mind. And she knew that the boy might ask her the question, but she didn't want to bear to hear it.

And she was right. Danny, still both mesmerized and curious about this story, softly asked, "And what happened to your parents?"

Sarah swallowed hard and made herself answer him. After all, she had made an oath to him to do whatever he had commanded of her. Still, her voice quivered with emotion as she replied, "M-My mother? My _dearest, loving_ mother. Though her heart was stout in gallantry, it was not so in the flesh. She always had a weakened heart from an affliction she had acquired in childhood. So, she had always been in frail health. But the moment the news of my demise fell upon her ears…she swooned into death, her tender heart broken beyond repair…"

She paused momentarily, but then steeled herself as she continued. "And the King of Castle Lagot was left all alone in the empty world he had created from his sins. The sorcerer said he left his kingdom not too long after the entire affair and no one ever heard one word about him since. I can only hope and pray that he repented for his grave offenses and was spared in the end of total despair."

She fell silent again, sincerely desiring every word she had last uttered about her father. But she focused back to the rest of her story and finally pressed on, "That is all that the sorcerer could tell my husband and me. As you can imagine, we were stunned to silence and sadness at his words. Finally, we asked him how he had met his demise, but he refused to tell us. But he insisted that it was not as important as it was for us to take his obligation to tell us all that had happened as a poor recompense for his transgressions. We did not know what to say to that at first. But he then beseeched us to forgive him for his ignorance on the severity of his diabolical enchantment. We, again, did not know exactly what he meant by that, and we fell to silence once more in bewilderment."

"But he mistook our silence for condemnation. He began to wail in his anxiety over what he thought was our unmoved denunciation. Again, he seemed so desperately remorseful for it all, especially when he spoke of his spell once more. With sincere anguish, he begged us for our forgiveness for his actions, that had he known how diabolical his spell upon us was, he would have taken King Raudolf's angry sword himself. We…we were finally so moved with pity about his desperation, we were riveted out of shock and felt compelled to grant him our pardon. It was then that he told us that his spell could not be undone without sacrifice. However, before he could explain more, he was suddenly whisked away by an unforeseen force, and we knew he had gone to the oblivion."

She sighed and continued, "But we felt what he had to say had no meaning. We had already sacrificed so much as it was, so we knew that what he said was hopeless. Why else would we be in this sorry state still? At first, we felt betrayed once more, made foolish by this magical creature who had done so much harm to us. But as the years past, and we spoke about it between ourselves again, we felt that he could not have wished more evil upon us and still have sought us out so desperately as he did. We then truly forgave him and tried to bear our curse as best as we could…..So you understand, then, Sir Danny, that by your own forgiveness, you have given me more hope to bear our suffering more easily now!"

Danny was deeply touched by her remark and her story. And he felt all his doubts melt away. He choked a little on his words when he replied, "No one could expect this much from you both! We will find a way to help. I promise!"

She smiled again, but said nothing this time.

"And one more thing…" he began. But he was interrupted by a commotion he heard just outside his window.

He rushed to it. "What the…?" he uttered when he saw an ectoplasmic energy ray penetrating the snow-laden sky in the near distance. He quickly morphed into Phantom as he hurriedly told the dove, "I'm sorry, Lady Sarah, but I have to go! There is some kind of a fight outside, and I'm sure there's a ghost involved. I have to go help. But, I'll be back as soon as I can!"

And without waiting for her reply, he turned intangible and shot out his window.


	44. Chapter 44 Heat in the Cold

**A/N: Well, it was **_**about time**_** for action! I've been going through major withdrawal from lack of it; and, believe me, it ain't a pretty picture! Especially when I suffer along with our heroes with all this angst stuff! But, like Lady Sarah said, 'With matters of the heart, you can be subjected to heartache.' So, I see that all that angst just comes with the territory. But, darn, I still love action! And, OMIGOSH! I just realized something! With this chapter, **_**TrueHeart**_** is NOW my longest story! I can't believe anything would get any longer than **_**Shadow of a Doubt**_**! Ahem, sorry for that randomness…I do notice those kind of weird things…Anyhow, here is record-breaking Chapter 44 to give that and more action to y'all. Remember that IDNOAC thing, too, and enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 44—Heat in the Cold

"Arrgghh!" Valerie screamed when she and her hover-board jerked upward after barely missing a powerful ectoplasmic ray thrown by none other than Spectra.

The evil ghost was currently in her shadow form with vibrant lilac energy pouring through her hands. She growled as she watched the Red Huntress plow through the heavy snowfall as she attempted to get control of her erratic flight.

But Valerie quickly did so and didn't hesitate to retaliate. Now, charged with angry energy, the girl forgot the depression that had gripped her heart a moment ago when she had been slowly flying home from school.

It was just her luck that her ghost detector had picked up these new ghosts' signatures. Her first impulse had been to turn off her detector and ignore them as she had done more often lately because of her problems. But the readings indicated that these were especially powerful ghosts and her hatred for all those like them was suddenly stirred; and so, she went after them…

Valerie twisted around so violently that now, in the falling snow, her hover-board looked as if she were a slalom skier about to take her downhill plunge. She immediately charged at the female Spectre, her guns spitting angrily at the ghost.

Bertrand gasped when he saw that Penelope was about to absorb all of the Red Huntress' assault. He quickly morphed into a Ninja warrior and immediately threw his nunchucks between Penelope and the hail of red ectoblasts headed right at her. The Ninja weapon exploded to smithereens when the ectoblasts hit them. Bertrand sighed in relief that Penelope was safe. But then, he instantly morphed into a large bug and shot of wad of bug goo from his mouth at Valerie.

The ghost huntress easily avoided Bertrand's attempt and she counterattacked with a blast from her weapon. But her aim was wide because the falling snow had naturally altered her perception. The girl growled at her miss and her lack of foresight, as she veered to the hard left. As she circled back in order to align herself for another frontal attack, she immediately activated the program that would calculate the adjustments needed to make her aim more accurate.

But Spectra immediately took advantage of that small distraction, and fired upon the Red Huntress.

Valerie's board immediately warned her, **"Incoming enemy fire. Evasive action taken." **

It tilted to a hard right this time, nearly throwing Valerie off of it. The girl yelled in surprise, but immediately crouched and grabbed the left edge of her hover-board with her left hand and steadied herself as her board skimmed the wave of thick snow and air as deftly as a surfer riding the top of a breaker.

Just the same, her hover-board successfully kept the girl out of the path of Spectra's ectoplasmic beam. Valerie growled just as her hover-board righted itself. These ghosts were thwarting her efforts at every turn and this fight was taking too long! She pushed a button on her wrist band and activated a new feature of her board. A powerful magnet was activated, which effectively melded her boots to the board so that now board and huntress were one. She then rearmed herself with a weapon in both arms and veered to a hard right, gritting her teeth in determination to step up her efforts to vanquish these two ghostly intruders.

Before she came fully out of her turn, Valerie opened fire upon the two ghosts, who had rendezvous with each other for a quick conference on a mode of attack.

And now, Spectra and Bertrand, still in his bug form, were ready. They instantly pulled away from each other, going in opposite directions so that now one of them was to the left and the other was to the right of Valerie as the girl charged forward.

Before Valerie knew it, she was caught in the crossfire of her two foes. She desperately dived downward just as the purple ray and green bug goo collided with each other at the place that she would have been had she not reacted.

Spectra and Bertrand growled in frustration; and renewed in their unified attack, soared downward after the girl, turning invisible this time.

But Valerie had anticipated their move this time and forcibly shoved her feet forward and upward, commanding her hover-board to arc precipitously so that she was now moving toward and perpendicular to the charging ghosts. At first, she panicked when she didn't see them. Where were they? But then, she notice two unusual bulges emerging from the heavy-fallen snow and instinctively reacted. She didn't hesitate to fire now that she was facing them again. She hit her mark and the two ghosts were riveted upward.

"Yes!" Valerie uttered out loud but continued in her pursuit.

Spectra and Bertrand were riveted out of their invisibility forms with the sting of the girl's clever attack. However, they quickly rebounded and opened fire with ghostly ray and goo. This time, Spectra's beam hit Valerie's board and knocked out the magnetic power, but the goo went too wide.

Valerie yelled a little when her feet were inadvertently released from their secure hold and just as she began to slide off, she reflexively grabbed the board and yelled once more in panic when her hands slipped on the snow that was coating her board. Nevertheless, she gripped harder and shoved her hover-board under her, sighing in relief now that she wouldn't be captured by gravity. Now on her knees with the board securely under her, Valerie pushed a button on her wrist band and the board shot forward. In a heartbeat, she jumped to a stand once more upon it and turned to face her attackers.

She shot two beams in succession, altering each of her aims slightly in order to attempt an assault on both ghosts nearly at the same time.

Once again, the ghosts opened up with their own power, effectively countering the girl's beams and rendering them ineffective.

Valerie frowned in anger and growled before quickly returning fire. This time, she hit Bertrand and he was riveted away. In the next instant, the Red Huntress concentrated on getting the shadow ghost.

But Spectra wasn't going to make that easy for the girl. She shot back at her foe and hit the hover-board again.

Valerie screamed at the sudden jolt to her board, but didn't lose her balance or concentration, and she immediately fired back.

Spectra reacted, but just a little too late and she yelled at the burning sting to her spectral tail as it sizzled with the blow. But she didn't have time to launch a counterattack because in the next instant Valerie had poured on more fire power, and the shadow ghost had to dodge several beams and missiles instead.

In the meantime, Bertrand had recuperated and as soon as his head was clear, he instantly headed back to the foray. He was a little thankful that the snow was coming down even harder now, since its white sheets acted as good camouflage even if he was creating a visible wake with his flight path. When he thought he was near enough, he was incense at the girl's attempt to hit Spectra. He fired with all his might.

The Red Huntress saw the huge green glob a little too late this time, but not before she still managed to first shoot another huge missile followed by a huge energy blast at Spectra. Spectra didn't react in time, even when she had heard the combined force as it sizzled its way through the falling snow toward her. And at about the same time Spectra yelled as the force of Valerie's blast sent her flying violently backwards, Valerie yelled in protest as she was pushed into and glued onto a nearby building.

Satisfied that he had finally vanquished the Red Huntress, and not finding Penelope at the moment, the shape-shifter quickly morphed back to his human form and pulled out his little machine. Though he knew that Penelope was too far away to do any more at this time, he still had his mission to accomplish—which was to pay the Ghost Brat a 'visit'. In fact, he had originally been going to Danny's house to siphon off more of the Ghost Boy's pheromones. And Spectra had insisted on going with him this time. She wanted to relish seeing the Ghost Boy weakened and even in pain when his pheromones would be stolen from him. And, if in the end the Ghost Boy had been sufficiently weakened, there were other plans…But that had all changed with the unexpected appearance of the Red Huntress.

Still, now that that human girl was out of the way, Bertrand resumed his way to Danny's house. But, then, he gasped suddenly before smiling with delight when he saw a black-and-white blur penetrating the cold, white snowy blanket covering the sky and heading straight at him. Could he really be this lucky? Grinning wider, Bertrand aimed the little machine at the charging entity, having a certain hunch who it was. And when he pushed the button and the black-and-white blur suddenly and unwittingly slowed down, Bertrand smiled when he saw that it indeed was the Ghost Boy. Oh, Bertrand indeed felt very lucky!

Meanwhile, Danny was completely oblivious to just what kind of danger into which he was heading. Even though Danny was feeling better about Sam and him, he had still been weakened by Bertrand's initial siphoning of his pheromones. In fact, Bertrand had been right that because his ghostly pheromones had been sucked out of him, those remaining ones were unstable, which had kept him in a weakened state. But, of course, Danny didn't know this even as he ignored the slight dizziness that had come out of nowhere and continued in his flight.

Bertrand smiled wickedly when he noticed the Ghost Boy continue to slow down. He immediately capped that vial after removing it from the machine the instant it filled with the glowing concoction, and put it safely away. And just as quickly, he replaced it with a new, empty vial and pushed the button again. This time, as Danny got closer, he was more discernable now that he had inadvertently slowed again. Once more, Bertrand quickly took out the now full vial and added a new one before reactivating the machine.

And when the shape-shifter did that, Danny stopped in mid-flight. Barely maintaining a hover, Danny reflexively held his head and stomach as they spun and throbbed, groaning as he felt his strength being sapped away.

That was all that Bertrand needed. He charged at the momentarily disarmed boy, pushing the button to command the little machine to do its thing once more. He smirked darkly at his next thought. _"I was absolutely right! This kid's got enough of our 'youth potion' to last indefinitely. We don't have to ever run dry! And I won't have to ever go back to Pandora' Maze when I have our own natural Fountain of Youth right here for the taking! I won't have to mask our ghostly aura ever again to get what we want!" _

His thoughts were interrupted by the bell of the little machine. He quickly replaced the vial, put it away with the others, and replaced it with an empty one. He pushed the button again and Danny screamed as a sharp pain bolted from head to toe.

The teen panted as he felt his strength drain. He didn't understand why—or how—he was getting weaker. But he also knew he wouldn't be able to fight the two ghosts _and_ Valerie the way he was feeling right now. But then, he suddenly thought about his Blazers! They were always on his wrists now, but he didn't always have to use them. But now that he felt so weak, it looked like the perfect time to do just that. In the next instant, Danny turned on his Blazers and adjusted them to the same green spectrum as his ectoplasmic rays. He hoped that would do it and continued on the flight toward his foes.

In the meanwhile, Bertrand, satisfied once more with the results from his little machine and the fact that the Ghost Brat was momentarily countered, chuckled darkly with his next thought, _"I know how to make Penelope see how much I care for her! Just for her, I can capture the Ghost Brat on my own right now and bring him back to the Ghost Zone! And I will get him ready so that we can siphon off whatever she needs whenever we want. But instead of doing the 'balancing act' like I wanted, I think we should keep the kid in such a weaken state that any amount of misery we siphon from him will still be hundreds of times better than anything we could have possibly obtained from any other human. Penelope will be beautiful forever, she'll thank me forever, and we'll be happy forever! Sounds like a deal—for us!" _

Bertrand took out the full vial and put a fresh one in. This time, he soared right at the Ghost Boy. He was nearly on top of Danny when he activated the machine again.

And again, Danny screamed as the pain sapped his energy. He wasn't certain if he could even lift his arms to fire through his Blazers.

But when Bertrand saw that his little pouch was full, he frowned. Yes, this was good, and he had another full pouch at Spectra's lair, and had other pouches ready to be filled. But he wanted more…now!

He suddenly thought about the little vial that contained the rest of his precious ghost aura masking formula. _"Oh_, _well,"_ he thought. _"Might as well use it up, since I won't ever be needing that formula anymore, and would rather have the vial filled with those delicious pheromones instead!" _

He pulled out the vial that contained the ghost-masking perfume. But while he was distracted, Danny rebounded. Suddenly, Bertrand felt the firm angry grasp of one of Danny Phantom's hands on his shoulder. Bertrand tried to resist. But the Ghost Boy, yelling with determination, was able to pull the shape-shifter back just far enough to deliver a powerful right hook complemented with a burst of green ectoplasmic energy right on his jaw, sending that ghost several hundred feet away. In the struggle, however, Bertrand lost his grip on the small vial of ghost-masking potion and it slammed right into Danny, shattering against the Ghost Boy's chest as it made contact, and spilling the remainder of the contents all over him.

Worried that this yellow stuff would harm him, especially now that it was forming into a mist around him, Danny quickly tried to wipe the stuff off, turning intangible as he did. But it was too late, and the amber concoction readily absorbed into his ghostly form before it could fully dissipate and Danny's white ghostly aura was extinguished.

But he knew he had no time to deal with it—or his continuing weakness—right now. He quickly scanned the area around him. At first, he didn't see anything. Now worried that he had come too late, he flew forward, surprised that he was _not _going as quickly as he would like. Still, he continued to move, searching desperately through the heavy snow for signs of…well, he truly didn't know. But then, he looked downward and saw her! Valerie! And he could see that she was covered in a green glow. He soared over to her, who was still struggling to free herself out of the bug goo.

But when she saw that Phantom was headed to her, the Red Huntress gasped. And when she saw him powering up his ectoplasmic energy in his hands as he neared, she struggled harder to free herself. Finally, he was within earshot, and thinking he was about to attack her, she defiantly yelled, "Get away from me, you spook!"

Valerie screamed in dread as Danny shot his ectoplasmic rays at her. She could hear the angry hiss of the rapidly evaporating snow in its penetrating pathway as the ectoplasmic doom headed right for her. But instead of being hit head-on, the rays missed her completely, though she could feel the vibrations of its force all around her for an instant! It was then that Valerie suddenly realized that he had freed her from the ghost goo. She looked at him in disbelief. Either he was a _very_ lousy shot…or he had done that on purpose. But she stopped at her next thought. Wait! He had been _extremely _precise with his ectoplasmic rays when he had rescued her from the Wraiths.

Still finding what he did incredible, she uttered, "What are you doing?"

But Danny didn't answer her. Just as he had melted the ghost goo off her, he had spied both Spectra and Bertrand returning in the corner of his eye and had immediately veered away from Valerie. He quickly soared to meet with the two evil ghosts.

The young hybrid charged up his ice rays from both of his eyes and hands as he tried to pour on more speed. He fired; however, Spectra easily avoided his first attempt. But when she tried to veer back toward him in a counter move, he redirected his aim and this time, effectively froze her.

Bertrand, who was trying to reactivate his machine while Spectra distracted Danny, gasped when he saw Spectra's frozen form plummeting to the ground.

"Oh, no!" he yelled as he shoved the little machine in his pocket and headed steeply downward after her. He caught her just before her ice-encased body would make impact and lay her gently on the ground. He fretfully asked, "Are you all right, Penelope?"

But, of course, she couldn't answer him at that moment.

Incensed, Bertrand morphed into a large green wolf and leapt upward, flying right toward Danny with revenge in his eyes.

Danny didn't hesitate to fly straight at him; and using the help of his Blazers, charged up his ectoplasmic rays, ready to deliver a potent blast to the shape-shifter.

But Valerie had set her sites on Danny at the same time and charged at _him _with her blazing guns.

Danny was concentrating on Bertrand so much that the teen wasn't ready for _that_ and yelled as his body absorbed the biting sting of the Huntress' red ectoplasmic rays. His body riveted violently from the force; and he slammed hard into the nearest building, sliding down it. He lay stunned in a mental fog at the bottom.

Knowing that she still had the two other ghosts with which to contend, Valerie soared toward the green wolf ghost with the same tactic. But Bertrand was able to avoid her shots and turned intangible just before they collided. He then twisted his wolf body violently around, rematerialized, and pounced on top of her, knocking her weapon out of her hands and pushing her body off the hover-board. They struggled in mid-air; and Bertrand quickly tried to snap at her with his jaws, but she pounded him right on his muzzle with her fists before he could. He bellowed in pain; but answered her with another snap of his angry teeth, which made firm contact of her right wrist band controls this time, crushing them in his vice-like jaws. But, for now, the wrist band had fully absorbed the damage and Valerie had not been harmed by his attack.

Still, Valerie didn't stop. She gave him another counter-blow with her free fist and he again yelled at the firm force. He instinctually returned her assault with a swipe of his claws, which ripped part of her sleeve off and cut into her right arm, which he still had in his jaws.

"Owww!" she screamed at the sharp pain, especially now that the crisp air bit at her open wound on her upper arm; but all the same, she immediately gave the ghost wolf a hard jab in his eye with her uninjured left arm.

This time, the shape-shifter yelped at the blow and promptly let her go.

She fell quickly toward the ground, futilely pounding on the destroyed controls for her hover-board. In her panic, the girl had forgotten about the back-up system that she had installed with the indirect help of Tucker way before they had split. She cradled her wounded arm, closed her eyes, and braced for the impact…

…..that never came. She then opened her eyes in confusion, only to see that she was now in Danny Phantom's arms. He landed safely on the ground with her, and as soon as he released her, he soared back upward.

Shaking her left arm defiantly in the air, she protested, "I was doing all right on my own!" It was then that she spied the back-up controls for her hover-board—on her left wrist! Looking at it, she groaned, "Duh! I forgot! No time to kick myself!"

Ignoring the pain shooting through her injured right arm, she immediately activated the controls and her hover-board careened in obedience toward her.

But before the hover-board had reached Valerie, Tucker and Sam had finally arrived on the scene just as they had witnessed Danny's last rescue of the Red Huntress. And having seen her bleeding arm, the two darted right up to her.

But because the Red Huntress had been tracking the flight path of her hover-board, she had not seen them; and she jumped a little when she heard Tucker's out-of-breath voice say with unquestionable worry, "Valerie, you're hurt!"

She pushed the 'slow' command for the hover-board before she twisted back at Tucker and angrily hissed, "Like you care!" But she didn't wait for an answer. She immediately commanded her hover-board to speed up in its movement toward her. As it glided rapidly by, she deftly jumped on it. Any verbal response to her comment by either Sam or Tucker was drowned out by the loud whoosh of the hover-board as it and its mistress swept passed the two grounded teens.

Tucker's shoulders drooped a little before he squared them in irritation and yelled up at her as she soared away, "Oh, yeah!...I…uh…do care! And…and get those bad guys!"

"Tucker! Danny's out there!" Sam protested angrily, smacking him on the shoulder. "And she thinks he's one of the bad guys!"

Cringing, he replied, "Oh, yeah! Sorry, Sam! I wasn't thinking! Maybe she didn't hear me?"

"Maybe, but let's see if we can help," Sam said as she cocked her Fenton wrist gun.

Tucker whipped out his PDA and they dashed toward the warring parties, looking through the heavy snow for a chance to strike.

In the meantime, Spectra had de-iced herself when her own ectoplasmic energy had encased her. She quickly returned to the air, searching for the Ghost Boy and the Red Huntress. She was delighted to see that she was closest to Danny and immediately fired at him.

Danny heard her sizzling ray and immediately pulled upward, barely avoiding it by flipping completely over. He then turned toward the shadow ghost and charged at her, materializing a green ectoplasmic shield as he flew toward her. At least he was thankful that his Blazers made it strong, and that he could still see through it as it plowed through the heavily-falling snow.

In another part of the snow-laden sky, the Red Huntress had soared toward the green wolf, firing a small weapon that had been concealed in her suit just moments before. He saw her at the last second, and veered sharply to the left of her, but not before the blast singed his tail. He howled and turned back for a counter-attack.

Meanwhile, Spectra fired point blank at Danny's shield just before he was upon her; and because he was still weak from the loss of his pheromones and the constant fighting, and in spite of the Blazers' help, his shield shattered. He was jerked backward from the assault, shell-shocked by the blow.

Spectra didn't hesitate to take advantage of the situation now that she had the Ghost Boy off-balance, and followed right up, rushing to deliver another powerful assault. She charged up to him, quickly grabbing him by one of his wrists. Before Danny could react, she pulled that same arm behind him while rapidly twisting him around so that he was now in front of her and facing away from her. In the next instant, she pulled harder on the arm she held behind him, pinning and holding it forcefully against his back. Then with her free hand, she shoved him firmly against her before quickly charging up her purple energy. Starting at her fingertips, its pulsating energy flowed upward, spreading much like wildfire. And in its wake, the loud fizzle of evaporating snowflakes erupted like a snake's hissing when they tried to float by her energy.

Once her purple power encased her entire arm, she quickly pulled it toward the boy with the intention of wrapping it around his neck. But before she could, Danny finally reacted; and now worried about that pulsating energy, reflexively grabbed onto her glowing arm with his free and protected gloved hand, struggling to keep her fierce energy from burrowing into his neck.

While pulling against his attempt, the shadow ghost hoarsely whispered in his ear with glee, "You like my improvements, Danny? I have you to thank for that. I'm deliciously more powerful now that your misery pheromones gave me the extra kick."

Danny's mind raced at her words and he immediately thought about what Sarah had told him. That's why he was getting weaker! Somehow, they were able not only able to sap his misery away from him, but also his ghostly energy and strength. But he had no more time to think about that. He knew he couldn't let on that she had been successful.

"I know all about your plans, Spectra, and you're not going to win!" he defiantly spat back, still struggling against her, and now feeling the heat from her energy begin to penetrate his glove.

But she tightened her hold; and his hand slipped. He grunted in pain when he felt the burn of her thrumming energy begin to cut into his neck. He grabbed her arm more firmly and pulled harder against her; but he just didn't have the strength to counter her, and this time he could suddenly feel the hot pressure on his windpipe.

She immediately noticed. "Nice try, Danny, but I'm afraid it's too late," she jeered. "You're obviously been weakened enough by Bertrand's little machine, so that you won't be able to get away. So, admit defeat now, and I'll keep your suffering to a minimum—forever, that is."

Charged at her words, the boy again tried to break free. Pulling her arm a little away from his neck so that he could breathe easier, he angrily choked out, "What are you talking about?" But, he really didn't care to hear her answer.

But then, he felt her counter-pull against his arm once more. With that, he concentrated; and with a yell of defiance, yanked the arm that had been at his throat completely away from him this time while twisting around to counter her hold on his arm that she had pinned behind and against his back.

Though his move broke her concentration and extinguished her energy, she wouldn't let go of him; and this time, she grabbed both of his hands now that they were facing each other. As they wrestled with grappled interlocking hands, Danny grunted and his arms trembled as he struggled to counter her strength. He knew that he was unwittingly tiring, but still, he pressed on.

While Spectra and Danny struggled, Valerie continued her attack on Bertrand. Ignoring her weakened injured right arm, she continued to fire with her left hand without hesitation. Finally, after a few more failed attempts to hit her mark with her red ectoplasmic energy rays, she forced her right arm upward to push the buttons to change her mode of attack. She groaned in pain at the effort, but finally pushed the button she needed. Instantly, she produced the miniature launching pad of her small missiles and discharged them toward the ghost wolf.

Bertrand couldn't avoid this counter-attack and howled in intense pain as he felt his body ricochet from the assault of several rockets hitting him at once.

As the Red Huntress watched on, the shape-shifter felt his smoldering green body plunge downward, unable to correct its out-of-control path to a hard end. Valerie gasped when she suddenly saw that the ghost's trajectory was bringing him very close to Sam and Tucker!

But fortunately, the two other teens had seen him. Valerie sighed in relief when they scrambled to get out of the way of the fiery green missile headed right to them.

Still, Bertrand barely missed Sam and Tucker. He slammed right into a large snow bank, which, fortunately for him, both cushioned his impact and snuffed out the blazing effects of the missiles which had previously engulfed him.

He pulled himself out of the still sizzling wet hole with a painful groan, but still managed to glare upward in anger, searching for the Red Huntress. But a moment later, from the corner of his eye, he caught movement closer to him than he what he had expected—or wanted; and his eyes then drifted toward that direction. Sam and Tucker were aiming their weapons right at him!

He immediately morphed to his human form and bolted upward, blazing away with his green ectoplasmic energy beam right at the two charging teens.

Sam and Tucker yelped in surprise, but instinctively jumped out of the way of the beam. It missed them both. But Tucker slipped on some ice and fell head first into another snow drift. However, that didn't keep him from rebounding. He pulled himself out and began to quickly pound on his little PDA and he disappeared from sight!

Meanwhile, Sam quickly counter-attacked after avoiding Bertrand's ray. She fired back at Bertrand with her wrist ray gun. But the beam went wild and totally missed the ghost. Grunting with agitation, the girl aimed and fired again.

This time, she hit her mark and the shape-shifter yelled with the sting.

Nevertheless, Bertrand fired back at her; but he frowned in confusion when the girl suddenly seemed to float awkwardly to the right of the beam, totally evading his blast.

Sam, too, yelled in shock when she was suddenly being pulled to one side, just barely avoiding Bertrand's beam when she did.

"It's me, Sam," Tucker hurriedly whispered.

"Tucker?" she asked incredulously. "But how…"

"No time!" he insisted as he pulled Sam again away from another attempt by Bertrand to blast the girl. He pushed another button on his wondrous little machine as he did, and then, Sam disappeared as well!

"What the…?" Bertrand blurted out. But before he could react, he was being shot by a powerful green ray out of nowhere. The force of the blow from Sam's wrist ray gun shoved him right into a nearby tree. He slid down it, groaning in pain all the way down.

A few moments later, Tucker and Sam reappeared right next to the stunned ghost. But then, the techno-boy finished the command for his next program, and an ectoplasmic net shot forth from the PDA and engulfed the still dazed shape-shifter.

"Oh, no! Not again!" Bertrand's slowly whined, slurring on his words, and barely keeping his eyes opened from his hard introduction to the tree. He was, of course, referring to when Tucker had sent him to the Far Frozen with the same tactic.

"Well, not exactly," Tucker replied with a smug smile just before pushing another button.

The netting began to twirl suddenly, quickly gaining more momentum in its spin, not unlike a pitcher winding up his baseball. Bertrand could feel his ghost brain sloshing around his head with the mounting gyration.

And just as the rotation was awhirl in a precarious speed, Tucker pushed the final button. Like a sling shot thrusting forward with its encased rock, the netting dutifully released its contents.

Bertrand ricocheted away from the two human teens in such a steep arc that he landed several blocks from the scene. Dizziness then seized the shape-shifter's ghostly head and his body ached as he lay helpless in a daze.

In the meanwhile, when the Red Huntress could see that Sam and Tucker were holding their own against Bertrand, she then turned and spied Spectra and Danny in hand-to-hand combat. Not knowing which one of the ghosts she should attack first, she decided to shoot right in the middle of them so that her one shot would be good against the two of them.

A very large red missile suddenly popped out Valerie's suit and she didn't hesitate to send it on its way. When Valerie's missile exploded between the two fighting ghosts, they both screamed just before they were violently knocked away from each other just as if they were alike poles on the end of two magnets.

Danny struggled to right his tumbling body, and finally managed to do that moments later. As he hovered, he shook his head. He knew that he was not moving; still he also knew that it was imperative that he try to right all the jumbled images scattering in front of his eyes. But that was not happening as quickly as he wanted. He struggled to keep alert as he felt his strength rapidly waning after being hit, especially since he still hadn't recovered from his fight with them—or that loss of his pheromones.

But before he could think on what to do next, he was hit by a very powerful purple ectoplasmic beam and he screamed as it quickly engulfed him. He reeled under the effects of Spectra's beam as it electrocuted and violently shook his entire body. Once again, he felt his body helplessly plummet out of control, his head spinning as violently as his body as he desperately tried to stay conscious.

But he couldn't control his tumultuous descent, and just like a speeding jet's precarious angle toward its frightening crash landing, the boy slammed into the ground, plowing a deep crater into the earth as he made firm contact. He lay stunned, groaning in immense pain and barely fighting the pull of getting sucked into total blackness.

In the meantime, now that Sam and Tucker had been able to get Bertrand out of the way, they finally were able to direct their attention back to the other battle. But their distraction had been enough to keep them from preventing what happened next. When they were finally able to see what was going on, it was too late! Danny was just about to ram into the ground!

Sam and Tucker gasped as Danny carved the deep scar into the snow-heavy ground. They were only slightly thankful that he crashed very near to them, and immediately bolted toward him. But they couldn't get to him just yet. Spectra had immediately soared downward toward her helpless prey, and Valerie homed in on the female ghost.

Still, Sam and Tucker got a chance to act again. Sam aimed carefully and hit Spectra right on with her wrist ray gun and as the shadow ghost screamed in reaction to the green ray, she veered out-of-control away from Valerie. Tucker followed up by opening a portal which would be right in the path of her trajectory. Her ghostly body then dutifully fell into the waiting portal.

"YES!" both Tucker and Sam screamed in unison when they were successful and just as Tucker closed the portal.

But with their newest distraction, Sam and Tucker had not noticed that Valerie had spied Danny in the crater below. Satisfied that Spectra and Bertrand were taken care of, Valerie flew toward the unmoving Ghost Boy, readying her guns.

As she charged downward, the Red Huntress yelled in triumph, "Now, I've got you, Phantom! I've saved these special _new_ babies just for you!"

Sam and Tucker then heard what she had said and gasped in shock when the two very large black missiles that popped out of Valerie's suit eerily glowed with a pulsating blood-red aura. The teens could also actually _hear _the disturbing hum of the aura around each of the missiles, as if they were breathing, no, _heaving_ with their anger and hate as their scarlet energy of doom quickly intensified with each pulse.

But Sam snapped out of it first and, seeing that Danny was not stirring, growled, incensed at the Red Huntress for what she had planned. The goth girl instantly aimed her wrist ray at Valerie.

But just as she fired, Tucker saw what she was doing and yelled, "Sam, no!" He pushed her arm so that the blast from the wrist ray gun went wild and totally missed Valerie. But he hadn't realized that he had pushed Sam's arm away so firmly that they both slipped on the snow and fell backward and onto the ground.

Both of them struggled to get back up. They succeeded, but that moment of delay was all that was needed for Valerie to follow through with her plans...

Valerie had been so excited and concentrating on finally doing Danny Phantom in that she hadn't even noticed the wild ray that had just missed her. She continued on her course toward the still incapacitated Ghost Boy. A moment later, the two very powerful, hate-filled missiles were released and headed with their terrible doom right to the hapless Danny.

Tucker gasped in dread while Sam desperately shrieked "NOOOO!" with all her might.

But suddenly, unexpectedly, a large, deep reddish-violet, domed-shape force field completely surrounded the crater where Sam's boyfriend was. Any snowflake that touched the shield evaporated on impact, their electrified mist twinkling like tiny stars bursting into supernovas.

No sooner had the shield appeared when Valerie's missiles exploded against the strong barrier, shaking it violently as it did, totally obstructing the Red Huntress' view of the Ghost Boy at that moment. But the defiant fuschia-colored shield held firm and kept Sam's now totally unconscious boyfriend safe from any more harm.

Still looking at the mostly purple force field, Tucker, stunned, blurted out, "Where did _that_ come from?"

But Sam didn't answer him with words. She answered him with her body. She fell right into him, having fainted from her mental effort.

"Sam!" Tucker gasped as he caught her fall and slowly lay her down on the ground. "Sam, what's wrong?" he anxiously yelled, crouching at her side while gently shaking her.

But she couldn't answer him. He frowned with worry, immediately thinking she had fainted from the shock at seeing the missiles headed right to her boyfriend. But seeing that she had no outward injuries, and that she was at least still breathing, he pulled up her jacket's black hood over her head just before he ran over to where Danny was.

The fuschia force field was now gone and Tucker gasped at the sight. The Red Huntress was now hovering above the crater, which was now becoming quickly engulfed by snow. But it did little to hide what lay inside it. And her mouth was agape in shock, as she stared down at the unconscious Danny _Fenton_.

Tucker shot his frantic gaze back and forth between Valerie and his unmoving friend. Both were so stunned that neither of them had noticed that Spectra was using a specialty they didn't know she had. She had used her Spectre claws to dig her way back into the Real World, grumbling under her breath to get even with the Ghost Brat's pesky little helpers. The shadow ghost then spied them! She wasted no time charging toward at least the male half of that pair of pesky helpers—and his ex-girlfriend. She quickly narrowed the gap between her and Tucker and Valerie.

Suddenly, Valerie's suit uttered its damaged, weakened alarm of Spectra's approach, but it was too late. The shadow ghost thrust a large and very powerful purple beam right between the two humans, but it was closer to Valerie.

Tucker yelled and fell backward at the force of the blast, and since he was at the crest of the crater, he fell into the pit with Danny.

In the meantime, Valerie's body ricocheted away from the pit and rammed into a nearby building. The might of the blow momentarily put the Red Huntress out of commission.

Tucker, however, wasn't hurt, as the soft sand and snow had cushioned his fall. He immediately got up and aimed his PDA at the charging ghost; but then, Danny groaned, distracting him. That was enough of a diversion for Spectra to be able to shoot the PDA from Tucker's hand, sending it deeply into the crater's snow-covered soft dirt.

Before Tucker could react, Spectra had Danny encased in a purple energy orb and pulled it upward, effectively bringing the unconscious boy within it with her. She immediately soared upward with her prisoner with a satisfied grin. She had him now.

The shadow ghost was about to claw her way back into the Ghost Zone when she spied Sam, still senseless, on the ground not too far from them. A quick evil plan suddenly wrestled for her attention. She smiled wickedly as she rent a large hole into the dimension. Then, she soared downward with Danny still in tow. She hurriedly created another energy orb, which obediently encased Sam.

She flew rapidly back at the now closing portal and dove in it just in time, bringing the unconscious couple along with her; and leaving a senseless Valerie and frantic Tucker behind.


	45. Chapter 45 Heart to Heart

**A/N: Time for an update already? Then are y'all all ready? I sure am! We need to see just what Tucker is going to do about all of this—especially about Valerie. So, here is Chapter 45, IDNOAC and enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 45—Heart-to-Heart

Tucker snapped out of his panic and knew he didn't have much time. He quickly dove right to where he thought his PDA was thrown. He sighed in relief when he found it shortly after digging through the newly fallen snow and soft sand. He shook as much of the wet dirt off and wiped the snow from it as much as he could. Then as he jammed it into his pocket, he uttered, "Nothing that won't come off with my electronics vacuum cleaner. Now, where's Valerie? And I have to check on Sam! And somehow get to Danny!"

He pulled himself out of the pit and searched through the heavy snowdrift. His gaze first went to where he had left Sam. He gasped when he saw that she was gone. "She woke up? But she wouldn't have gone home!" he gasped in disbelief. "Or did she see what happened to Danny and went after them? She would! But she wouldn't have gone without…duh! She wouldn't have seen me in that pit! Maybe she's looking for _me_! But what about Valerie?"

But, of course, he didn't know that Sam had also been captured by Spectra.

He then scanned the sky and the surrounding area for Valerie, but had a hard time seeing through the thickening snowfall. Then he saw her! She was already partially covered in snow and was still lying against the building nearest the pit. He gasped in worry this time, and darted right to her.

Just as the boy got to her, he heard her groan and saw that she was starting to get up. She had yet to look up and hadn't seen him, nor had she heard him since the snow had softened his steps.

Tucker didn't want to startle her, but was also anxious to see if she was all right. While trying to hide his concern, he said as softly as he could, "Valerie, are you all right?"

He immediately offered his hand to help her up when she did look up upon hearing his voice. But she angrily shoved his arm away and continued to struggle to get back on her feet on her own.

He stood helplessly by.

Finally, she thought she was successful; but then, she slipped on some of the snow that had fallen off of her and lost her balance. This time, Tucker lunged forward, catching her fall. He didn't care if this would get her upset or that her blood from her still injured arm had gotten on him.

Still, once she had regained her balance, she pushed him off, wincing from, but ignoring the pain shooting through her injured and now cold right arm. And her head was still spinning slightly, which made her feel nauseous.

However, she managed to growl through it all, "Leave me alone! As if you care how I am! I don't need you—or your help!"

And then, the next angry thoughts totally cleared her mind. Pointing a fuming finger at Tucker, she seethed, "And how **dare** you show your face to me again after all of this! Now everything makes total sense! How could have I been so **stupid**? **You** **lied** to me! And **he **lied to me! **All of you** lied to me! You pretended to be my friends and you **lied** to me! You knew **all along** that Danny Fenton was Phantom and you **never** told me! And all those times when I tried to dust Phantom, when I ranted on and on about how much I hated him, you **never** told me the truth!"

She hadn't realized that her breathing had already increased and her face was hot until she saw that her face mask was beginning to fog up. She grunted and activated the switch to lift the face mask, and, ignoring the cold, snow-filled wind that had suddenly blown up and screamed at her face, glared at Tucker, adding, "And you took me for a **cruel ride** all along, didn't you? How many times did you **three creeps** **snicker** behind my back, knowing you had one up on me and thinking me as a real dope? Looks like you three had hours of entertainment with that, and all at my expense!"

"Now listen here, Valerie," Tucker slowly began, already getting more agitated; only to have the steamed girl rudely cut him off.

"No, **you** listen, you **jerk**! And now I get it! You three were just using me all that time for your own sick joke, huh? So, what was in it for **you**, Tucker? Did you get the biggest laugh after you told your **icky friends** about all of those times when…" But she suddenly couldn't say more. She didn't want to show him how much he had hurt her. She gritted her teeth, trying to steel herself.

"That's not **it**!" he firmly objected, only to have her interrupt him again.

"Oh, **isn't** it? I bet that's why you ran off after the party, huh? You had to…to keep yourself from laughing yourself silly after seeing me make such a fool of myself in front of your **jerky **friends! **Right**?"

Valerie was having an even harder time controlling her emotions, and her breathing had increased. She was so angry, hurt and mortified about all of this that all that she could do was lash at Tucker more. And with each word, her voice became angrier and louder as her imbedded hatred for everything that had ever hurt her, had ever torn her heart open, took command of her feelings. "So, tell me then, Tucker. How _**much**_ did you tell your **creepy friends** about us? Did you give them **all** the intimate details? Or, since those details weren't quite **juicy** enough, did you **make up** more lurid details just for the fun of it? And did they enjoy hearing about all those times when the Red Huntress was so vulnerable, so **stupid and** **silly** with letting her guard down? That just makes me sick!"

"Now, wait—" Tucker growled, rightly taking offense to that. But she harshly interrupted him.

"No, **you** wait! All of times when I thought you cared about me…all those times when I thought I could be friends with Danny and even Sam…when I could…finally _trust_ someone…You all were just faking me out! And all just for fun! All of it was just an **act,** wasn't it? And in the end, you broke up with me when I finally upset your **despicable little game **by coming clean about being the Red Huntress, huh? …I just **blew** a hole right in your plans to sucker me into making me look even more like an **idiot** in front of you and your **creepy **friends, didn't I? Oh, I see now! So, all three of you really had a _**great**_ time at my party and probably for days afterward, didn't you?"

She could feel her heart pounding at the same rate as her breathing. She hurt so much right now that she wanted to just jettison away. But that same heart somehow wouldn't let her do that right now.

The snow was coming down harder now. But Tucker ignored the white coldness that suddenly enveloped them both. He didn't even try to pull his jacket around him. He was now too riled up himself from how unfair Valerie was being and from what she had said. But, he had really no time for this. And he didn't want to take the time. His best friend was in danger, Sam was missing, and Valerie would never understand anyway. So, he wasn't about to let Valerie box him in with this.

Thrusting his fisted hands to his sides, and ignoring the angry frost pouring out of his mouth, he growled back, "OK! You're **right**, Valerie. I **did** lie to you all this time! We all **did!** But not for the **despicable** reasons you accused us about. We **never** had 'hours of entertainment at your expense' as you said! And I **never** told them anything about us—ever!—because they're great friends and,…and, **for your information**, it **never even** crossed their minds to ask about those kinds of things! In fact, now that I think of it, they were more supportive to me about you than you deserve now that you said all those **nasty things** about them—and **me!** But you **want** to know something? We didn't lie just so that we could have 'hours of entertainment' to mock your **self-absorbed, putrid ego**! We lied so that we could keep Danny's secret **safe**. And why did we do that? Because he asked us and because it helped him! And so, Miss Red Huntress, it wasn't **my **secret to keep from you! It was **his**! And I would do **anything** for Danny, even if it meant keeping his secret from **you**, my parents or anyone else he wanted me to!" His breathing had now become as rapid as the angry thumping of his heart.

At first, Valerie was taken aback by his anger. She had never seen him like this before. She had no doubt that she had hit a definite nerve.

But before she could say anything, he continued, now getting in her face.

Again, she cringed a little at his boldness, as he seethed, "And you want to know **something else**? I've **always** known you were the Red Huntress! Really, **we all did**, since the very beginning! But I—**we**_**—**_kept that secret, too, and you wanna know why? Because **you** hadn't ever given me—**or us**-permission to tell it yet, either! Until that other night. And I wouldn't even tell the world even now about it if you said it wasn't OK, because I would…do…**anything **for you, too!"

He suddenly caught his breath from what he had just let slip out. He _still_ felt that he _would_ do anything for her! But he threw that thought quickly away. His face and emotions were still too much on fire.

His last statement floored Valerie. Did he just say what she thought he had said? Suddenly, her heart was seized with confusion—and remorse.

"Tucker—," Valerie tried to say, but this time he was the one who was doing the interrupting.

"**I'm not finished**!" he yelled, throwing his hands up into the air before fisting them and shoving them to his sides. He then pulled up his right hand and jabbed an angry index finger at her this time as he hotly growled, "And I won't stand for you calling Danny and Sam any more names, you hear? You got it **all wrong** about them, about all **three** of us. And you got it **way** wrong why I left your party! But just so you know, even when they knew your secret all along, and knew how you were, Danny and Sam have bent over backwards trying to get along with you for my sake; and believe me, especially for Sam, that says **a lot**! It hadn't been easy for any of us, since none of us really ever knew if you would all of the sudden go off on one of your "I-hate-Danny-Phantom" rants. I'm glad that I can tell you the **real** truth now! I really had always dreaded that you would go on one of those despicable rants, because I know that Sam would have wanted to claw your eyes out if you ever did! But, you know, even if she wanted to do that, I guarantee that she would have first eaten her insides out **not** to—just for me! Geez! Don't you **ever **think about others? It's about time that **somebody** told you how darn selfish and stubborn you can be!"

She frowned in irritation at his remark, but he didn't give her that inch to object.

"And whether you want to hear it or not, I'm going to tell you the **brutally honest** reason why I took off from your party! It **was** about Danny and his secret. But more than that. It _was_ 'all about **you'**—the **real** you! And what I mean is the _**vile**_ person inside the Red Huntress. The one who ruined a good thing…who ruined everything!"

"Wait a minute—" she growled, angry at all his affronts. How dare he say those things to her! But she stopped herself at her next thoughts. Wait! What did he mean by a 'good thing'? She angrily threw that stray thought away and glared at the boy. The only 'good thing' was that she had finally found out about all the lies, and they could finally tell it like it was! And what? He had the audacity to accuse _her _of ruining things? That Ghost Kid had ruined everything! She practically gnawed on her next words, "—what makes you think—"

But he interrupted her again. He had had enough. It was time for him to make up for all those times when he had been silent, when he only listened to her long, spiteful rants about any and all her frustrations—especially the big one about Danny Phantom. Listening to all that vileness thrown at his best friend had been hard for him to do all along; and all her hate-filled words thrown at Danny Phantom really stung him as surely as if they had been physical blows aimed at him instead. But, he had taken it all because he had wanted to help her to work through her hate. But now, it was different. Even though she had been wrong all along, he had let it slide before, hoping that she would have changed. **But he had been wrong**. And he would not hold back or silently take her lashing any more. He had to get it off his chest before he would explode.

"**Let me finish**!" he firmly yelled, now shaking violently with his anger. "You've been gunning for my best friend for a couple of years now and did you know that he **never ever once** asked me to help him keep you from doing that, even after we started dating? And he **never** has **ever** tried to **hurt** **you** during all those times even though you were **way **bent on **way** **more** than just hurting him!"

He threw up his hands and shook them in frustration as he forcibly continued, "**Had you ever noticed that**? Or were you so selfish and busy hating Phantom's guts that you were **blinded** to anything decent that he might have done, like actually **helping** you?"

"He **never** helped me! He always—" she firmly objected before Tucker angrily completed the sentence for her.

"He **always** helped you! And, trust me, if he **didn't **want to help you….if he **ever** had gone after you with the same **vile, putrid** intentions as you had going after him, you wouldn't be here right now! He knows he could've wasted you with his _little finger_ if he wanted to, but he also knows that would have been worst than wrong. It would have been **despicably evil**!"

She blinked in shock at his heart-felt words as they drove themselves right into her own heart. That was it! It _would have been_ despicably evil if Phantom had done that! She paused a bit at another thought that had suddenly captured her. She hadn't thought that it was possible for Phantom to waste her for an entirely different reason. Then, lowering her head a little, she offered her slow, almost apologetic, response, "I just had always thought that he was a coward!"

"_**That**_ is something I would **never** call Danny Phantom!" Tucker spat back, not noticing the change in her voice. He was just too upset to notice.

Thrusting his shaking index finger and its angry fisted hand toward her again, he growled, "And I'm lucky enough to have him as my best friend! And **that's only **_**one**_** of the reasons** why I finally broke up with you! I thought you would change even when I knew your feelings about Phantom. I had felt sorry for you way back then when I first started to go out with you. I thought, somehow, if I helped you with your frustrations, it would all be different. That you would…change...That you would see what a hero he is. That he's always trying to do the right thing, even when all the bad things were sometimes stacked up against him. And that somehow, when you realized all that, you would be different…that you wouldn't grow up being bitter and full of hatred…that you would be that person who I lo—" He abruptly interrupted himself this time, trying to stay on track. He frowned at his weakness and growled, "But you **never **tried to give him a break! You were too selfish and ruined everything!"

Valerie wanted to object again. No one had ever talked to her this way and gotten away with it! But then, his last words—'ruined everything'— suddenly shook her heart, flagrantly flogging it with the realization. That's how she felt about that…that man that night… That's how she felt about her own actions that night that had put her mother there, _in the wrong place_ _and at the wrong time,_ only to have that…that man tear her from her…Her whole life had been ruined; her whole outlook on life had been ruined. It had never occurred to her like that until now.

She felt a sudden drain when her mind finally comprehended something else that her anger had blinded her to. What Tucker had slipped out saying—more than once. And somehow, she now knew that he had meant another kind of 'good thing', not the kind she had twisted it into. And she thought that he had almost said that he….he…. She swallowed hard and couldn't make herself balk at his words this time. She even couldn't deny that Tucker had some very good points, even when it stung to hear it. She wondered why she would admit that, why she let all of his words hammer right into her. But what particularly struck her was all that stuff he had said and almost said that had nothing to do with Danny or his secret. In fact, she now knew they were as vivid in her mind as the cold, bright whiteness blanketing them at this moment. She looked at him, now clinging more earnestly to everything he had to say.

Tucker swallowed hard when he saw the sudden change in her eyes. They were…less angry. But he pressed on nevertheless, trying to control his breathing. "I shouldn't be all upset about this anymore, **but I still am**! I thought I was just doing you a favor by wanting to help you. I thought it would be simple."

He paused a moment, catching his breath. And then slowing his rate a little, he said, "But something happened that I didn't expect through all of this. I started to…care about you. I don't know why, but I did. And then, all of the sudden, I didn't want to lie to you about anything anymore. About how I had started seeing you at first because I felt sorry for you, about how I knew your secret, and about how I knew Danny's and had to protect it. But when you finally told us your secret, I felt that I should tell you about Danny. I had really wanted to for awhile now, but I couldn't. And then…"

He couldn't go on. He was no longer angry. He was feeling sick inside. He couldn't help feeling the pain. Something inside was dying. And his heart ached at his next thought. He had wanted to tell her about Danny for longer than he had originally thought. And he had thought that if he could ever tell her Danny's secret, she would have understood. But now, since she found out accidentally anyhow and was just as hateful, selfish and angry about it, she obviously didn't understand. He was wrong for hoping otherwise, even though he hadn't wanted to stop hoping…. But he jolted a little at his next thought. Sam was so right! Valerie would _never_ change.

He resisted the pressure in his eyes and finally grumbled, "Oh, what's the use with you, anyway? Hate and bitterness have eaten you up and you fed them willingly, just like so many others like you! You'll never change."

He turned from her and started to walk away, his entire body and soul crushed with the realization and for having to say it. But he knew he had to.

But then, suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and it gently persuaded him to stop and turn around. He obliged it, though he didn't know why, and knew he couldn't look her in the face.

It was Valerie, of course, but she was now out of her Red Huntress suit. She felt the sudden cold, but she didn't care about that at that moment. All the while when she had stood there taking in his angry verbal assault, she suddenly realized how much he had been suffered with everything: about keeping Danny's secret—and hers; about his lies—and _knowing_ and still keeping _all of_ hers, including all about her hatred for Phantom—and his gallant guardianship and loyalty to his friends. And how understanding and patient—and even affectionate—he had been with her the entire time. He was so right about her and now she knew that she had been so unfair to him, especially when she was even guiltier than his lies were. She had never told him the truth about it all…

She _had grown more than_ bitter; she had been getting more selfish and eaten up by hatred. And now that she thought about it, it really wasn't about Phantom…it was about all the hurt and anger she had felt and kept bottled all these years…the hurt and anger over how her mother had died…And how so unfair it was to her that life had cheated her out of having her mom then and now…especially for all those times when she needed her…"

She felt the tears well up but she fought them back. She suddenly realized something that she should have figured out years ago. She _had _grown more demanding and selfish shortly after her mother's death. It _had been_ _all about her_…her need to have a hole inside filled, to always be the center of attention.

And now she realized that was one of the reasons why she had wanted so badly to be part of the 'in' crowd. But she had to fit their mold…and she did by demanding that her father get whatever it took to be considered 'cool'. She hadn't realized it until now, too, that she had taken all her hurt out on her father as well…That in his grief, her father obliged her and worked very hard to give her the material things that he felt might fill her empty heart. He had tried to make it all up to her, even if none of it had been his fault, either.

But then, when all of that was suddenly taken away, when her life was ruined by Phantom and that dumb ghost dog, all her hurt and anger had nowhere to hide. So, she redirected them at Phantom—and all other ghosts. She suddenly, yet mentally, gasped. She was talking about Danny! Someone who had been special to her once, and from what she had known about him, he _wouldn't_ have wanted to ruin her life. And she had wanted to destroy him just as much as that drunk driver had destroyed her!

And with that eye-opener, she suddenly _did_ think of all the times that Phantom actually did help her—like now, against those two ghosts. And when she was in the Ghost Zone just the other week with that ghost gang. Even then, when she had attacked and almost wasted him, Phantom had rescued her from a terrible fate. One that she had…deserved…And then, what about those other times, like when they had actually worked together when they were kidnapped by Skulker or when they rescued Danielle? And then there were the times….she stopped. Tucker was right! She had been so unfair to Danny Phantom, too! She felt crushed with shame. But she had to let Tucker know how she now felt…

"Uhm, I-I t-think people can change, can't they?" she then choked out with a pleading and sad frown. "I have been so unfair to you, Tucker. And you were so right. I have been so awful, so selfish…and despicably evil." She paused in sorrow and sadness. "And all these…these evil things I did were all because of another selfish secret I hid from you…" She paused again, suddenly frightened on how he would take that. But she pressed on, "But that's a very long story and, really, from how terribly I treated you all this time, it doesn't really matter anymore, because…."

She suddenly choked on her words. She didn't want to say what she had to say, but for once, she would make herself do the right thing. She ignored her cracking voice as she pressed on, "B-Because I-I r-really don't blame you any more, you know, for wanting to break up with me. I deserve it for all the crap I threw at you …and Danny."

Tucker didn't respond at first. He was having major déjà vu about what Valerie had just said. That was almost _exactly_ what his mother had told him about her and his dad. Just like Valerie now, his mother had also told his father that she had deserved their break-up because of _her_ selfishness.

He finally looked up at her and their eyes met. Somehow, he could see that the pent-up hatred he usually saw in her eyes had somehow melted away, and had been replaced with a yearning to be forgiven by him.

The sharp pain in his heart eased a little.

But Valerie took his long pause as his agreeing with her about their break-up.

She sadly muttered, "Well, OK, I understand. But just so you know, I think I'll still always….love you, even after all of this. I still do. Crazy, I know. But maybe it'll help me when I can somehow, one day, stop hurting about all of this, and know I won't be able to hurt you, or Danny, or even Sam anymore."

She let her head drop; and this time didn't try to fight her hot, sad tears as they pushed against the cold. She wrapped her arms around herself, now that she realized how freezing and numb she was.

Tucker looked at her, jolting a little when he did. Did she just say what he thought she had said? And something clicked inside of him. Something he could finally put a finger on and why he had been so upset about this whole thing, too. He _had loved_ her, too. More than anything. But then, suddenly, he felt—No! Crazy as it seemed, he _knew_— that he _still_ did. And with that thought, he suddenly felt blanketed by a wave of warmth, and the pain in his heart totally melted away.

Before Valerie could turn away, she felt a warm coat drape over her shoulders and a soft voice say, "Uhm, Valerie?"

She looked up through her cold tears. And with hope in her voice, replied, "Yes?"

As his warm hand cupped her cheek and his thumb wiped her tears away, he smiled weakly and softly said, "Uhm, it can happen, can't it? People changing, I mean."

She didn't think a smile could get any bigger than hers right now as she jumped into his arms, knocking off the coat he had put around her. She groaned slightly in the next instant when bringing her injured arm up to embrace his neck, but she ignored it as her mind whirled with his in their healing and reconciling kiss.


	46. Chapter 46 Unified Plans

**A/N: *sighs* I am so relieved that Tucker and Valerie have made-up, aren't you? All this separation anxiety was just too much for me—oh wait! That term, 'separation anxiety', is supposed to apply to babies and their moms! Oh, well, I'm sorta a baby when it comes to all this romance stuff, so it sounds apropos to me after all! Anyhow, now what? Seems like things are still in a pickle….So, after the IDNOAC commercial break, let's tune in, shall we? Here is Chapter 46…Enjoy! *frequency static clearing*….**

TrueHeart—Chapter 46—Unified Plans

"Danny!" Tucker suddenly gasped, startling Valerie as they parted. Now that they had made-up, Tucker's next thoughts were about his friends. "Spectra and Bertrand have him!"

"_Who_ have him?" Valerie asked with a frown.

Tucker quickly explained, "That's the name of those two ghosts you and Danny were fighting a few minutes ago. They are particularly nasty ones, too. They like to feed off of human misery. And they use that misery to keep themselves looking young." He suddenly paused and then excitedly continued, "And when they suck out that misery, that makes you more miserable! _And that's why_ they wanted to break Danny and Sam up! To suck up their misery." But then, after thinking about how much trouble Danny had during the fight, he muttered really to himself, "But when they do that, it only makes you depressed. So, how come that made him so weak, then?…"

She blinked in awe. He really knew a _lot_ about ghosts. She asked, "And you've fought them before?"

"Yeah, a couple of times, but not just me, of course. Danny and Sam…Sam!"

Valerie jumped again at his unexpected frantic cry.

He cringed and said, "Sorry! But remember that Sam was here earlier, too, and now I don't know where _she_ is!" He hesitated at his next thought, but he then muttered that same thought out loud nevertheless, "And she's in trouble, too!"

In the next instant, he reflexively whipped out his cell phone. He was about to call Sam on it when he noticed fresh blood oozing from the ugly, deep gash on Valerie's arm. He stopped and put the cell phone down to his side, knowing what had to take place first. He grabbed his coat, which was still on the ground. And as he draped it back over Valerie's shoulders, he said, "But, even though I'm worried a lot about them, I need your help to find them; and you're in no condition to do that right this second. Right now, we have to get you some first aid. And I need some first aid, too."

"What do you mean?" she asked. She agreed she needed some patching up, but he didn't seem to have any obvious wounds.

He pulled out his PDA and held it up; but before he could say anything, two things happened simultaneously: the phone within his other hand rang, which startled him and because of it, his fingers fumbled on the slippery thin sheet of snow and dirt still covering his PDA. He gasped as he quickly lost his grasp on his PDA. He instinctually dropped his phone and recaptured his PDA with both of his hands. The phone immediately shattered to pieces on a small stone that was jutting up from the snow.

"Whew!" he uttered as he pressed his most prized possession against him. He much rather have his phone down there than his PDA.

"I'm sorry, Tucker," Valerie said when she looked at his destroyed phone.

"That's OK," he replied. "I think it'll be OK."

However, she didn't know that he was referring to his PDA when he said that. She frowned in confusion. He wasn't upset about one of his techno gear being destroyed? Nevertheless, she quickly added, "So, what did you mean that you needed first aid?"

He carefully lifted his PDA up once more; and with a smirk, he replied, "My **PDA** needs first aid! That's why I almost dropped it just now. It was thrown and buried in the pile of dirt and snow when Spectra shot it out of my hands when I was in the pit trying to help Danny. And there's still some dirt and snow residue on in and also probably between the keys. I need to repair it, too, before I can go look for Danny and Sam."

She rolled her eyes with both slight exasperation and amusement. "Oh, here, let me see," she said with a slight chuckle as she took the PDA away from him with her left hand.

Tucker's face instantly lit up in worry and he gasped in surprise at her sudden response. But she merely smirked as she wrapped her hand firmly around it and brought her hand close to her right, injured arm. When her hands were close enough to each other, she pushed a button on the control device on her left wrist, wincing a little when a sudden sharp pain shot through her injured arm. She ignored that and held the little PDA steady as a pink energy bubble quickly surrounded it before lifting it gently up to within its center. And now that it had finally stopped snowing, she knew she could activate the desired feature without any interference. She quickly pressed another button, and just as she did, sparks of gold electricity ignited within the rosy orb and around the encased little machine, and it shook under the energy.

Tucker suppressed a cry of worry over what she was doing to his PDA. But his face was clearly disconcerted over it. Still, he somehow had the feeling that he could now trust her.

A few moments later, the rosy energy orb dissipated and the little PDA plopped securely back into Valerie's firm hold. She smirked as she handed it back to Tucker and his face relaxed.

Still smiling, she shyly remarked, "I had interfaced this cleaning program designed just for your PDA not too long before, uhm, you know, all that bad stuff. I did it just in case, you know, we needed it."

'We'. He liked the sound of it. He looked down at his PDA. It looked brand new! And she did that just for him? He blurted out, "I love you!"

"Me or your PDA?" she teased with a grin.

"Well, both really," he answered with a mischievous smile. "But my PDA is a close second!"

Valerie squelched the tear of joy at those words. But then, she groaned, finally succumbing to the pain throbbing in her right arm, and now, her head.

Tucker gasped at the sight again of the blood oozing down her arm. He pointed to her arm and then firmly announced, "OK, now it's time to get _that_ fixed up. And I know exactly where we should go!"

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Sarah was surprised that Danny had not placed her back into her cage. But, she didn't know that he could not do that again now that he knew she was a bewitched human ghost. And besides, he really hadn't thought about doing that in his haste to rush and phase out through his window to fight the ghosts.

No matter the reason, Sarah had only one thought now that she was free: Derek! But where was he? The Ghost Boy had told her that his love, Lady Sam, had taken her husband; but the dove, of course, had no idea where the girl lived. She flitted frantically about, trying to think of what to do.

Finally, she alit onto the unglowing top of her cage and sighed in defeat. She felt the tears of helplessness grip her as she thought about how much of a mess she had made of everything, about all the misery she had caused. And she just knew that if she ever saw her beloved Derek again, she would make sure to try to please him and put his desires first from now on. It wasn't that she had ever been too selfish to put his desires first when it was necessary, or that he had never considered hers. It's just that she knew his desires at this moment were more important. She had to help him, to reach him at the level of his despairing turmoil in which he currently was in order to bring him back up and have him hope again. And she knew she would even agree to flee from this wretched place which was so full of even more evil ghosts if that was the way to help her love.

But then, she thought about Danny. He said he was also a ghost, no, half-ghost. She didn't understand _that_. Still, she didn't think he was evil. Even so, he was outnumbered by those ghosts who were. She whimpered as the tears flowed out as an out-of-control flooded river. She felt she still needed to help _him_. Somehow. Though she didn't know how and knew her first priority was her husband. She had to be loyal and supportive of him. After all, Derek needed her help, too.

She tried to keep her thoughts together, but she finally yielded to her sudden despair and cried even more, feeling totally lost on what to do….She stayed where she was, her head buried within her panged bosom, for a very long time….

But then, she was shaken from her depressing thoughts when the door to Danny's room unexpectedly flew open.

"Danny!" Jazz cried as she barged in, and the dove immediately flitted up in retreat to the top of the mirror adjoining Danny's bureau.

Jazz had just returned from school after finishing up with her after-school project. She had already checked on her parents and saw the note. She was worried about her brother and wished their parents would return soon so that they could talk to him. But she also couldn't wait for their parents since she didn't know when they would be back. And so, she had gone right up to talk to her brother.

Jazz caught the movement of the bird with the corner of her eye and then she gasped when her gaze perchance glanced down at the broken picture frame, the shattered glass, and the overflowing trash can, full of other pictures and mementos of Sam. And the large charred holes in the floor.

She gasped. "Oh, no! So, what they were saying at school was true! It's worst than I thought!" she fretted out loud. "I can't believe that Sam would do that to Danny! And I can't believe it! They must have broken up! I've got to find him and Sam!"

The teen immediately pulled out her cell phone and dialed her brother's number. But she cringed in discouragement when she heard its cute little tune singing from on top of the bureau, which startled the dove, which was still on top of its mirror. The bird quickly flew up to the overhead ceiling light, away from that new foe.

"Darn it!" Jazz groaned, not paying attention to the dove for the moment. She was not, however, surprised to see the dove at all. Danny had told her all about how he had found it, and she had seen it. But she had no time to think about that now. She quickly dialed Sam's phone. But it rang and rang and then there was a 'clicking' sound. Encouraged, Jazz quickly said, "Sam?" But she sighed when she got her answering machine instead.

"When is she going to change that lame 'doom and gloom' message?" the girl uttered with a slightly irritated frown. She hadn't ever been bothered by Sam's answering machine message before; but, of course, she hadn't been this worried before, either. She knew something was _terribly_ wrong.

However, she couldn't have known that Sam was still senseless from the mental effort she had made saving Danny from Valerie's missiles; and that she was currently still in the purple ectoplasmic energy orb, along with her unconscious boyfriend, both on their way to Spectra's lair.

Still, Jazz was quick to leave her message, "Sam, this is Jazz. Call me. It's important."

She hung up again and called Tucker. But she heard a strange noise at the end. Then, it sounded dead, which, of course, it was, since it had fallen and shattered on the ground when its ring had startled Tucker.

The girl growled in frustration. It was then that she remembered that the dove was **loose**! She quickly scanned the room and saw the little bird still perched up on the overhead ceiling light. But when she looked at it just now, it _looked_ different than the last time she had seen it for some reason. It was _glowing,_ just as a…_ghost _would!

She slowly approached the ceiling light and, looking up, softly said to the dove, "How did you get loose, sweetie? I don't want you to get hurt anymore."

Sarah looked down upon the girl and had a feeling that this girl was as kind as she sounded. She had seen the girl only a couple of fleeting times while she was here, and had guessed that she was the sister of Danny. And she liked the girl from the moment she saw her. The girl just seemed so kind. And the dove couldn't help but trust her.

Then thinking about Derek's warning once more, she shook her head, trying to resist that feeling. But as she continued to observe the girl, she _still_ couldn't help but trust her somehow. But then, she thought about Derek and his warning about her nature again. Tears began to well up. He was right, but she couldn't help it. But she also tried to fight back her tears.

She startled a little when Jazz then said with concern, "Are you OK, little one? I hope you're not sick. You look strange. Are you well enough to go back to your home yet?"

**Home**! Sarah couldn't hold back her emotions at the thought that she and Derek would never find one, especially when she might not ever see him again! She began to sob.

This time, Jazz was taken aback and gasped, "Are…are you _crying_?"

"Yes…I …am crying," Sarah answered between her heaves, just before she glided down to the top of her cage again. "You are so blessed to have a home and family! Alas, I never will! And my love is lost!" She broke down again.

Jazz was stunned at what just happened. This _undoubtedly_ was a ghost animal! But why could it talk? She knew that ghost animals didn't speak—well except for Vlad's buzzards, but they didn't count… But _this ghost animal_ obviously could and it was in distress. In spite of her astonishment, as Jazz slowly crept toward the bird, she found herself uttering, "Oh, I'm so sorry. What can I do to help?"

The dove blinked in disbelief. She couldn't believe what the girl had just said! Another one so willing to help her in spite of all that she had done? But maybe this one _didn't _know all the vile things she had done? Still, the dove startled a little when she looked up into Jazz's jade-colored eyes. They were so different from the shadow ghost's eyes when that ghost had uttered similar words. This girl's eyes breathed of the truth. She was _sincere!_

And now that Sarah thought about it, there had been a look of dark purpose, like clouds vainly struggling to hold back a torrent, behind Spectra's eyes when she had offered to help her and her husband. And she knew to what evil that had all led. She had not recognized it before because she was blinded by her hope and trust. Maybe it was happening again now!

Sarah suddenly began to sob again and Jazz became alarmed. "Please don't cry! I'm sorry if I scared you!" She stepped back from the bird and stopped right next to Danny's desk. She declared, "Look, I moved away so I don't make you nervous! I won't hurt you! I promise."

Jazz's last words went right to the enchanted girl's central core. That is exactly what the red-haired girl's brother had said! That was it. Sarah decided to trust her and tell her everything that had happened, even as her husband's words of warning echoed in her mind. She took flight and landed on the desk.

She looked up with sad eyes at the girl and barely said, "I am sorry to upset you. I have done too much of that for everyone! But, we do not have time for every moment of the telling! I am compelled to tell you, however, that your brother, Sir Danny, left some time ago to fight some evil ghosts that were in the distance from here. And as you can see, he has yet to return. But I will also tell you that he knows the truth about his beloved, the Lady Sam. She is innocent and her heart has always been true to him. He has been encouraged about this and his heart has been mended."

Jazz blinked at the dove and blurted out, "How do you know about all of this? Who _are_ you?"

"As I said, there is no time for every moment of telling! But I will tell you that my name is Sarah and I do not wish any more harm upon any of you."

Jazz still wanted to know more. What did this ghost mean by that? How could she hurt anyone? But her thoughts were interrupted by Sarah's frantic plea.

"Please, you must go help your brother! Since he has not returned in haste, I fear more evil may have come down upon him!"

"What do you mean?" Jazz gasped, suddenly startled by that news.

Sarah quickly told the girl about Spectra's evil plans about her brother, especially the evil ghost's desire to possibly _kill_ him!

"How do you know about all this?" Jazz demanded more firmly this time; and the ghost dove cringed.

Still, Sarah bravely answered, "Because I have been instrumental in that evil ghost's doing! But I regret it all and your brother knows all of this and still has forgiven me! In any case, we have no time! You must go help your brother!"

"But how?" Jazz asked, now beginning to get desperate. "And which ghost was he going to fight, anyway? It might not be Spectra. If it's the 'Crate Creep', I mean, the 'Box Ghost', then there's nothing to worry about. In any case, I have to know because he might not need the help after all."

Sarah blinked in confusion. She did not know of the ghost of which the girl had just spoken. She finally uttered, "I am sorry. I do not understand. He has fought _many_ ghosts?" Even though Danny had told her about the fact that a 'bazillion' other ghosts had wanted to hurt him, she thought he had not been serious.

"Yeah, more than even I know about, probably!" Jazz began. Then with a touch of pride in her voice, she added, "And, really, we all have. _Team Phantom_, that is."

Once again, the dove looked at her in bewilderment.

Jazz saw that look and was surprised that she could actually recognize any emotion in the ghost animal. Still, she continued, chuckling now a little in embarrassment, "Uh, _Team_ _Phantom_? Well, yes, heh-heh, that would be me, Sam, and Tucker. And occasionally, my mom and dad."

"All of you have fought _many_ ghosts before?" the dove asked, amazed and suddenly curious. "But why?"

"Well, not that we really want to. It's just that, there are some really nasty ones out there who want to cause trouble for us humans here in the Real World and, of course, to make even more trouble in your world. Someone has to make the sacrifice and try to keep them in line. It's just the right thing to do, you know. And Danny does that more than any of us, of course, ever since he got his powers. But we—me, Sam, and Tucker, that is—help as much as we can when we can."

"W-What do you mean by 'since he got his powers'? Sir Danny did not always have those?" Sarah found herself blurting out, suddenly remembering that the Ghost Boy had promised to tell her his story one day. She suddenly gasped, "Alas, I do not understand. Sir Danny said that one day he would explain that to me, because I still do not see how he could be both human and ghost."

Jazz immediately thought, _"__**Sir**__ Danny?"_ But seeing that this ghost somehow knew of her brother's secret, she instead replied, "Well, technically, he's half-human and half-ghost…"

Sarah blurted out, "He said that, too!" But when she realized what she had just done, she apologetically said, "Forgive me, Lady Sister. I did not mean to interrupt you."

"Oh, that's OK," Jazz said with a weak smile. "I see you know that I'm, uh, Sir Danny's sister. But my name is Jazz! Anyhow, no, Danny didn't always have his powers! He got them by accident a little more than two years ago…uh, sorta..." She stopped, not wanting to get into that time complication thing.

She then continued, "And at first you could have said they were a curse because he had so much trouble controlling those powers. And he had to hide it from most of us because, I hate to say, he was afraid that our parents would've kill him!"

Sarah gasped.

Jazz hurriedly continued, suddenly stumbling over her words at how that must have sounded to this strange ghost. "Uh, but they didn't! Of course…you know, kill him, because you wouldn't have, uhm, seen him today! They now know about everything and are really very cool about it!"

She paused, not wanting to dig any deeper a hole. But then she said, "Uhm, I'm sorry if I frightened you, especially when all of this stuff must sound crazy to you, even when it sorta is! But anyways, even though Danny had to deal with controlling those powers and keeping himself safe from our parents at the time, he still had to fight ghosts and keep our town—and really, our world—safe."

Jazz smiled with a little pride as she added, "And, really, we all try to help him now as much as we can! Of course, I can't help being proud of him. I would have even if he didn't have those powers, you know, because he's really a very cool brother. But now that he uses his powers for good, he's a real hero. And I am very lucky to have him as my brother!"

Sarah's eyes widened. She could not believe what she had just heard. Those young people were willing to do that much sacrificing for so long just because it was the right thing to do? She felt ashamed about herself once more and said with earnest, "Forgive me for delaying you. I have caused so much anguish; I can bear it no more. Please, then, I beg of you once more. You must go to the aid of your brother! I fear it is that evil ghost Spectra whom he went to fight not more than an hour ago. I cannot explain how I know. I just do. Please, Lady Jazz, go!"

"But what about you?" Jazz insisted.

"I have already caused too much suffering! I only wish to find my husband and we will not bring any more grief to anyone else but ourselves. But, alas, I cannot find him! And I do not know where to begin to look. But that no longer matters. What is important is for you to help your brother!"

Jazz looked at the bird and was puzzled at what she saw. She could see only sadness and desperation in its eyes. And somehow, she felt that it needed her help, too. She said, "But you look like you're in need of some help, too! Perhaps I can do that, too!"

Sarah looked up at her, again with surprise. "I do not understand…"

"Please, I want to," Jazz gently interrupted.

Finally, the bird relented. She slowly replied, "But…perhaps, if it pleases you, you _can_ help me! Sir Danny had said that the Lady Sam has my husband with her. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes! And, as a matter of fact, I need to go find her and Tucker so we can help Danny!" Jazz excitedly said. But before she did anything else, Jazz turned to the dove and said, "And, oh, by the way, you don't have to call me 'Lady Jazz'. Just 'Jazz' would be fine."

Sarah's eyes widened once more. Her brother had said similar words! These were indeed very special humans.

But before Sarah could say anything more, Jazz, suddenly motioning for the dove to come with her, commanded, "And let's go!"

The dove took quick flight after the girl and they both darted to Sam's house...

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But when they got to Sam's house, Jazz stopped short of knocking on the door. What if Sam wasn't home? Then, why would Sam's parents let her in? But maybe her grandmother would. She turned to Sarah and said, "This might be a little complicated, but don't worry. Oh, and you might want to make yourself invisible, Miss Dove."

Sarah obliged her and became invisible.

"Please let it be Grandma Manson…please let it be Grandma Manson…" Jazz prayed under her breath as she gingerly rang the doorbell.

Jazz's heart leapt when it _was_ Grandma Manson, ever on her scooter, who answered the door. She bit her inner cheek, trying to compose herself as she said, "Hello, Mrs. Manson. Is Sam home?"

"No, Jazzie. In fact, I'm beginning to get a little worried about her."

"Well, I haven't seen her either, but….she told me…that, uhm, I…could pick up…what I let her borrow here when I had the time. And now I do!...Uh, have the time, that is," she hesitantly lied, with a nervous smile.

One of the old woman's eyebrows shot up in suspicion, but she said instead, "OK. But please tell her to call if you see her?"

"Sure, Mrs. Manson. And I'm sure she'll call. You know how she is. Uhm, can I go get the thing she, uhm, borrowed?" She hoped she didn't sound _too_ pushy.

"Well, go on up, Jazzie. You know where her room is."

"Thank you, Mrs. Manson," Jazz replied.

But just as Jazz passed her, Grandma Manson said with a touch of concern, "And please be careful."

"I will," Jazz absent-mindedly replied and then gasped when she realized what had happened. She turned back to the old woman and smiled in embarrassment.

Nothing really escaped Sam's grandmother!

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Jazz quickly made her way to Sam's room and looked around. Sarah gasped as she materialized. She had been the first to see her husband in a cage. He was in the shadows at the foot of Sam's bureau.

"Derek!" she screamed in relief and excitement.

"Sarah!" he replied with as much emotion when he spied her, instinctively jumping up and pressing his paws and face against the bars nearest to her. But they jolted him and he pulled back.

The dove immediately soared over to him and since she could see that the slates were wide enough, she carefully pushed her head through, thankful that the bars would not be touching her. Derek then met her forehead gently with his own; and closing their eyes, they stayed in that embrace for several moments.

Jazz wondered how two totally different ghost animals could be capable of such an expression of love, but somehow, she knew that their love was real. She then grew embarrassed at that realization; but knowing that they were pressed for time, knew she had to break the tender moment.

"Ahem!" she said, clearing her throat loudly yet discreetly as she did. "I'm sorry, but we really have no time for this! Mrs. Manson might get suspicious if we stay too long!"

Derek had only seen Sarah all this while and had not noticed the human girl who had accompanied his wife. But when he heard the unexpected human voice, he jolted away from his wife and looking at the teenage girl, hissed with his warning, baring his claws and fangs as he did. He, of course, knew that he could really do nothing to her within this cage. But if she should try to get to him within the cage, he would be ready.

But Sarah quickly assured him, "No, Derek! It's all right! This girl came to help us!"

Derek immediately frowned when he looked back at his wife, thinking that she had fallen into still another trap. He silently whispered, and his voice was very grave, "Sarah…"

And even though she caught his reprimanding tone, she was just as quick to counter, "I know what you're thinking, beloved, but **she **_**is **_**here to help**. But there is no time to explain. Please let her help us!"

Derek saw how desperate his wife's eyes looked at her plea.

He relented, saying, "Only for you."

Sarah smiled widely and flitted back to Jazz. But as she neared the girl, she suddenly felt worried. She would _not_ have _another_ human become entangled in this horrible web that had been woven by all the evil she and her husband had created. Plus, she remembered her own promise to herself. That she would do whatever would please Derek if she could ever see him again. And it was his desire to leave this place and never to return. She quickly flew back to her husband.

Jazz frowned in confusion. Why did the dove turn around? But she patiently waited a moment longer. But she hoped it wouldn't be _too_ long.

"Derek," Sarah hurriedly whispered to him when she had returned. "After this girl has helped us, I also do not wish to put her or any other human in danger any more. When she frees you, let us go in haste to flee this wicked place."

"But why did she agree to help us, then?"

"She did because it was the right thing to do. And she wishes to help her brother."

He frowned in confusion. "Her brother? What do you mean, Sarah?"

Her speech increased in pace with her desperation. "There is so much to explain, but we have no time at the moment. He is the same dark-haired boy whom we helped Spectra tear away from his love. I fear that that wicked sorceress may have him within her clutches as we speak!"

Derek paused at first. He tried to think about whom his wife was speaking. It was not the boy he overshadowed, and it was not the boy with the red hat. Then he knew and said, "Yes, I remember the boy. His name is Sir Danny, is it not?"

She nodded.

But then he anxiously asked, "But how do you know of this and that it is indeed true that he is within the power of that wicked creature?"

Sarah's eyes averted his as she replied, "I do not know. Buy I have a strange feeling about it and no more. But, we have no more time. I do not wish to cause any more discord between us. I was wrong to have press for it and thus put us in even more peril. And I do not wish to cause any more harm to another living being by any more delays or by any other means. So, I beg you, Husband, let us not tarry any longer. We must be on our way!"

Derek was surprised to hear this from his wife. After all, hadn't they argued over this very subject before they had been attacked by Bertrand the last time they were in the Ghost Zone? Had she changed her mind? Why? But he couldn't say anymore. He nodded and replied, "All right, Sarah. Let us go, then."

She was glad that though he had remained silent a little too long while he mulled over what she had said, in the end, he finally agreed to flee with her. The ebony dove quickly flitted back to Jazz.

Jazz, meanwhile, was getting more anxious. Why were they taking so long? And now she could hear the elevator. Grandma Manson had grown suspicious! But just before the girl was going to say something to the animal couple, Sarah was flying right back to her.

The dove apologized, "I am sorry we took so long, Lady Jazz. I thank you with my entire being for all that you have done for me, for us!"

"That's OK. But we need to go—now!" Jazz quickly replied. She hurried over to the where the wildcat was confined. She opened the cage, but just as she was about to reach in, the lynx leapt upward out of the cage under his own ghostly power.

Jazz stepped back in surprise, just as Derek politely said with a respectful nod of his head, "A thousand 'thank you's', mi lady! My dear wife and I are indebted to you. But we must go now. We cannot bear to have another human put at risk for our sake any more. Come, Wife!"

Sarah flew over to her husband and alit upon his back. She turned to the still astounded girl as she and her husband hovered in place and hesitantly added, "Thank you again for helping us. We will never forget your kindness. But please also forgive us, but we are going to flee from here and never return. I hope you find your brother!"

Without another word, the ghost animals lifted upward as one and quickly becoming intangible, phased through the window and into the rapidly retiring day.

"Wait!" Jazz called after them as they began to phase out of the window. "I don't know how to find Danny!"

But the ghost couple didn't turn back or answer her.

Jazz turned to leave, trying not to panic. But the next sound she heard helped her snap back to her senses. Grandma Manson's scooter was making its way to Sam's room. The teen took a deep breath to compose herself and walked calmly out of Sam's room. She met the old woman just as she did.

"Oh, there you are, Jazzy. I hadn't seen you go and I was getting a bit concerned that I was losing it. Did you get what you came for?"

"Uh-huh!" Jazz nervously blurted out.

But Sam's grandmother frowned when she didn't see anything in the girl's hands. "Where is it?"

This time, Jazz laughed, trying to brush off what the old woman had said. But it was obviously a nervous laugh. "Did I say, 'Uh-huh'? I meant 'Uh-uh'! I'm such a loon! I got it back from Sam yesterday! Sorry to have bothered you, Mrs. Manson. I'll tell Sam to call you if I see her, OK? And you don't have to let me out. I know the way! Bye!"

And before Mrs. Manson could say anything else, the girl had darted down the stairs and out the front door.

The old woman turned her head and peeked into Sam's room, followed by looking to where Jazz had gone. She frowned in bewilderment and then scratching her head, quipped with a slight chuckle to herself, "Don't even _try_ to figure that one out, Millie!"


	47. Chapter 47 Fateful Decision

**A/N: Hello, everybody, and a VERY happy Friday to you! Looks like it's time for an update, doncha think? How's summer (or winter for ALL of you 'down under' the equator) going? It's been going **_**great **_**for me so far, especially since my beta was able to get this to me in time! Her internet was down and I can relate to angst about all that! …But, ahem, changing the tone a bit, things are getting heated for all our heroes. And now, we're about to go into overdrive with the story—or was that a nosedive? Oh, well, hope you're strapped in no matter what you're in! All I know that all our heroes are going to be in more trouble—soon. So, with that, IDNOAC and here is Chapter 47. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 47—Fateful Decision

The snow storm had now passed; and the ghost animals leapt into the clearing sky. They headed westward, chasing after the thick orange, pink and purple ribbons of the shortening day. They knew they had to find a way into the Ghost Zone. But, of course, they didn't know how to do that, since, after all, they hadn't been _out_ of the Ghost Zone for centuries.

After only just a few minutes, however, when Derek realized that they had made their way to really _nowhere_, he finally stopped in mid-flight. He scanned the area in which they were and glided over to the top of a nearby building. He landed and Sarah immediately floated down so that she could see his face. She, too, had reached the same conclusion as he: they had left in such haste that they were now utterly lost in this foreign world.

"I am sorry, Husband. I, too, do not have an idea on where to go! Nevertheless, we _will_ find a way back to the Ghost Zone and then we will be able to continue onward in our endless wanderings." She unconsciously let her eyes fall from his after she said that.

He paused and looked at her lowered face. He could tell that she didn't really desire to do this. But then, a thought hit him. She had said that for _his sake_! After all, that was what _he_ had wanted to do before their argument and right before they were attacked the last time by that Bertrand creature. _He_ had been the one who wanted to escape from these troubles that seemed to forever chase them.

He gently replied, "I know you too well, Beloved. Your heart is not in that. You do not wish to flee from here nor that part of the Ghost Zone where we last found ourselves."

"N-No, t-that is not true!" She immediately objected, stumbling over her words. But she couldn't look into his eyes when she did.

She had promised herself that if she were ever to see her love again, she would do anything to please him. And even though she knew that she had not failed to do that in the past, it was, in a way, now time for her to put her own desires aside. He had already done so much for her and they had been in so much peril lately because of his bending his will to hers. Besides, she knew that it had been his underlying desire to flee this place and never to return.

She finally said, "No, Derek, I want to please you, and I know that you wish to go as far as possible from this wretched place. I do not blame you for wanting to do so. There has been more tragedy upon us and those around us since we have lingered."

He paused again. She _was_ doing her best to hide her true feelings. But she was too honest a ghost to do a good job of it.

Suddenly, he chuckled.

She looked up at him in bewilderment. Why was he amused by what she had just said? She uttered, "I do not understand, Husband. I thought you would be pleased that we were forever leaving this place."

He grew more sober and replied, "I thought so, too, Wife. But now, I am not certain. I have had a chance to think about everything these past few days, especially after your kind desire to please me just of late….And, suddenly, your actions made me think of another who wished to put my well-being above her own. I speak of the human girl in whose company I had been and in whose room you found me. I was suddenly more aware and now more than ever taken by the feelings and spunk of that human girl. I have finally come to fully understand all about this young girl, especially how devastated she must be now that we helped tear her away from her love. And just as sudden, I could no longer ignore what we had done."

Sarah blinked, suddenly astonished yet enthralled by what he was telling her.

He continued, "I was both amazed and bewildered when in spite of how much turmoil she was in, she yet remained kind and concerned for _my_ well-being. But then, shortly after that, something odd happened that I have yet to tell you...Our eyes met briefly; and in that fleeting moment, though I cannot explain it, I could somehow sense everything about this young girl. That she has been doing extraordinary things. Things that she strived to do only because it was noble and worthy, even when she took great risks to her own well-being. And notwithstanding of her youth, she had already been through much danger and sacrifice because of that boy—and for some reason, she did it more than willingly. Furthermore, she would not hesitate to do more in the future, even if the risk included facing her demise. She was able to, I think, not only because she felt what she was doing was justified, but because of her feelings for that boy who was her love."

He stopped a moment, feeling a swell of emotions within him once more.

Sarah felt tears caressing her eyes, but she remained firm as he continued.

"But then, I could tell that this girl was suffering poorly during all this time. Suffering because of the boy; but oddly again, she was also doing that willingly! In spite of all the anguish I had put her through when I used that other human boy under the dark bidding of Spectra, I could tell that this remarkable girl still loved that boy who was important to her. And once more, in spite of it all, she was still determined to get to him. My inner being was stirred by that. I felt that she still _hoped_ to find him and get through to him. And when I saw—and somehow _felt_— that amount of hope amidst her misery, I thought of _you_, and how you still hoped even amidst our own despair."

Derek drew his lower lip in slightly before continuing, "And when I realized that all because of your actions just now, it finally made me come to my senses. I suddenly understood all that I had done and how very anguished this girl was because of it…It was the same way how I did feel when you had been torn away from me all these days when we were injured. I did not know if I would ever see you again then, and I was anguished to my very soul. I knew then that I was gravely wrong to have rent that young human couple apart in such a despicable, devious way, and then leave them to their despair without a care. I was ashamed because of it."

"But you do not bear this burden alone, Husband. I, too, am ashamed," Sarah gently replied.

He smiled weakly at her and said, "Thank you, my love. That gives me strength. But being ashamed does not absolve us from making amends! So, if it pleases you, Dearest, we need to stay here and help that young human couple."

Sarah's eyes suddenly sparkled with her happy tears. _This_ was the Derek she had fallen in love with those many years ago. But her uplifting thoughts were short-lived when they drifted back to the matter at hand. She became more serious and uttered, "It does please me that you and I both understand what we must do. But I must tell you that now that we have some time, I can tell you about what happened to me when we were parted. I had been in the company of the very same boy of which we speak, the same love of the girl,…the fair Lady Sam, who took care of you. It was Sir Danny who cared for me when I was injured."

The lynx scrunched up his face a little as he commented, "Yes, I am most grateful that you have recovered. I had feared the worst. But I did not know that the boy was in your company and I am most content that he did not harm you any further. And, for some strange reason, a curious memory has just surfaced when you spoke of his name again. That evil female ghost had said something of needing something of value from him. I do not remember what that was, but she was adamant about it."

Sarah brightened at his reply. She excitedly explained, "I know what that was, Derek! I have yet recalled the name of which she called it, but Sir Danny had told me that Spectra was always in search of human misery, and that it would keep her young! What she wanted from him, then, must be nearly the same! How she could take it from him, I do not know and she did not say. But he said that she wanted that from all humans. But there is even more to that and you are correct! I suddenly remember! When we were prisoners but when you were still incapacitated, the dark sorceress had mentioned that she wants even more than that from Sir Danny. She made me think he was very special, more special than ordinary boys. I did not understand that then, but I do now."

He frowned, wondering what she meant.

She saw his look and her face became more serious as she continued, "And here I must tell you what I now know. He _is_ indeed a very special human boy, Derek. For some reason he can be both human and ghost."

"What do you mean?" he finally asked, still surprised.

Sarah quickly explained to him everything that she had seen about Danny and what his sister had told her.

This time Derek frowned in worry, "That would explain to whom that witch Spectra had been referring and who I, too, at first believed were two different people. He must be one in the same, though I still do not understand how that can be!" Then he gasped at his next thought, "But he also is evil, then, Sarah! He had attacked us when we first came to this world and had kept us prisoners! We cannot help him, then!"

"No, no, Derek! He thought _you_ were attacking _me_ and defended me when you first encountered him," she insisted.

"But he attacked me again, in the home of the Lady Sam," he countered. He then explained to her what had happened that night.

"Do you not see, then, Beloved, that at that time he still thought of you as a _real_ wildcat threatening _his_ love?" she gently chided him. "Surely, you will not tell me that you do not understand that?"

He looked at her and seeing her weak smile, returned it with his own. "You tease me, Wife, but I am persuaded.

She smiled back and replied, "I am pleased that you understand, my love." But then her face scrunched up in worry as she added, "But I fear that it is because Sir Danny can be both human and ghost that the wicked Spectra wants to hurt him. She insisted that she wants him injured so severely, he will be in her control, or worse! In fact, I fear Sir Danny is in danger of losing his life!"

Her husband swallowed hard when she had said that. He, of course, knew that. She had tried to convince him several days ago about that and he hadn't wanted to listen. But now, he could not deny or ignore it any longer. He knew how much graver the burden they both bore, now that they had possibly put the boy in mortal peril.

He clenched his jaw in determination and said, "Then, let us not discuss any further about the 'whys' and 'wherefores' of this boy. We both know that all we need to be certain of is that we must find a way back into the Ghost Zone so that we can help him, if we can. But how can we be certain that Spectra has him?"

She answered, "We cannot be. But, he had not return after much passing of the hour before I could come to you. And we both know that Spectra wanted him, and wanted even more from him. Furthermore, he did say he had to go to fight a ghost when he departed. Would it be wise to suppose, then, that we should at least find out for ourselves whether that wicked ghost has him?"

"It would not be unwise, Wife," he gently replied, before growing more serious. "But, do not forget that if we are able to find a way back into the Ghost Zone, it will be dangerous for us to return. Spectra would not be pleased if she were to discover us!"

"I know, Derek. But we have the duty to find out. We can be careful," she said with just as serious a tone.

He was smiling when he remarked, "Have I ever told you how very brave you are?"

Her emerald eyes sparkled as she replied, "All the time. And I feel the same way about you, Beloved!"

He chuckled a little before saying with determination, "Then, let us make haste, Wife, and try to find a means back into the Ghost…."

But his words were abruptly cut off when a large red blast suddenly hit right near them….

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"There, I think that'll do it!" Mrs. Foley said as she finished securing the bandage on Valerie's arm. She had already given her a shot of antibiotics and a dose of the tetanus vaccine before cleaning, stitching, and dressing the wound. She then frowned and added, "Uh, how did you say you got that ugly gash, Valerie?"

"Uhm, I _didn't_," Valerie sheepishly replied before throwing a skittish glance at Tucker.

Tucker nervously jumped in, "Well, it is kinda embarrassing how it happened, Mom! You know how we're always fiddling with our techno stuff. Well, when my phone broke, it somehow freakishly cut her arm. In fact, it was really bizarre, 'cause it actually broke on her arm and cut it!" He lifted his decimated cell phone up 'as proof' for his mother to see.

Valerie cringed, praying that Tucker would shut up _now_ before he blew it. But she still managed to keep her own mouth shut and nod in support of his 'story'.

Mrs. Foley's eyebrow lifted in suspicion. She didn't think a cell phone could smash to smithereens on someone's arm. But even if it could freakishly do that, she didn't think a broken cell phone could make a gash like that. She thought about asking Tucker exactly how his phone had managed to fall on Valerie's arm, but she gave up on that. After all, this wasn't a 'first' for her son. She really had thought he had gotten out of his clumsy stage, but obviously she was wrong. For one who loved techno gear as much as Tucker did, he had certainly broken _a lot_ of them since he had gotten into high school. Still, she wondered why this strange thing had happened to them, but she was more relieved now that it looked like they were back together again. She decided to leave it be.

But then, she added, "Well, OK, then. But I think I need to let your father and doctor know about that cut, Valerie."

"Uh, thank you, Mrs. Foley! But do you think I could tell them? Please? I-I don't want them to think you're crazy when you give them that explanation!" Valerie sheepishly asked.

One of the woman's eyebrows hitched in suspicion again. But then she said, "Well, OK. But be sure to tell them right away. But I have to report this to my supervising physician just the same."

"Yes, ma'am," Valerie began, mentally breathing a sigh of relief that she wasn't going to press the issue. "And, of course, thank you, Mrs. Foley! Tucker did tell me that you were a great nurse practitioner!"

"_**Were**_?" she said, feigning feeling insulted. "Just because I only practice nursing part-time now doesn't mean I do it _part-way_!"

"OK, Mom," Tucker replied with a roll of his eyes. Maybe he inherited his sense of humor from her, too! "But thanks for all your help! Uh, we have to get going! See ya!"

He quickly turned and hurried off, with Valerie right on his heels. But she turned back to the woman and said, "And thanks again, Mrs. Foley! See ya!"

"Good-…." Mrs. Foley began, but the young couple had already dashed out of eye and earshot before she could wish them a proper 'good-bye'…..

When they finally got to Tucker's room, the boy proudly announced to his girl, "OK, now it's _my_ turn to fix things up!"

Just as he said that, he pushed a button on his PDA, and a holographic small-scale, but very useable, workbench appeared in front of them, fully equipped with all sorts of gadgets and tools.

"Whoah!" Valerie said, awestruck. "I had _no_ idea, Tucker!"

"Yeah, pretty cool, huh? Kinda puts all those portable handymen to shame, don't ya think?"

She rolled her eyes in amusement.

But he continued, "Anyhow, I've been wanting to show you this, like, forever, but, you know, I couldn't 'cause I would've had to explain to you how I got this mega-cool PDA in the first place. But I'm so happy that I can now! Even though, really, how exactly I did get it will have to wait. We have to get to the Ghost Zone as soon as we can."

"And you know about that, too? The Ghost Zone, I mean," she inquired, flabbergasted once more.

"Yeah, been there hundreds of time, too!" he said, briefly closing his eyes and smirking with a bit of smug pride. But he quickly turned sober and reaching with an upturn hand at Valerie, added, "But enough of this! Let's get at your wrist control band…"

She quickly surrendered it to him, and watched him as he pushed another button on his PDA. A holographic blueprint of her wrist control band suddenly appeared in the air.

He smiled sheepishly at her and uttered, "Uh, I used my PDA to scan it a while ago. Sorry, couldn't help myself! It's just such a mega-cool piece of techno gear!"

She rolled her eyes before widening them when he began to work. And as she watched him, she couldn't help but be enthralled, unaware that a look betraying her dazed admiration had crept onto her face.

He expertly repaired all the damage her wrist control band had sustained. He was finished in hardly any time and deftly handed it back to her once he was through.

She smiled and blushed as she grabbed it and said, "Gee, Tucker, I didn't know how resourceful you really were. I'm totally wowed about what you just did."

He smiled back, flattered by her remark. But instead of eating it totally up as he would have in the past, he seriously replied, "Thanks, Valerie. But I think we need to get going….But first…"

He pushed another button on his PDA and the holographic workbench morphed into a holographic cell phone.

Valerie smiled knowingly this time. That is why he wasn't _too_ upset that his other, much-less-cooler cell phone had broken!

Tucker quickly dialed Sam's number as he took the phone. He had heard only a couple of rings when the connection was made. "Hello?" he said, but all he could hear was some confusing noises. "Uh, hello?" he asked again, and then he thought he heard, "Tuc—" and then….But Tucker wasn't sure what that last thing he heard was. Then, he thought he heard a painful scream. He wasn't sure if it was Sam's scream, but he knew that it was bad! "Sam? Are you OK?" But all he could hear was a wheeze, and a strange buzzing sound. "Sam?" he asked more frantically.

But before he could say anymore, _he _yelled when a powerful pulse of purple electricity jolted both his phone and his ear. He quickly severed the connection before it could harm his PDA. After he quickly inspected the little computer and sighed that it seemed to be all right, he asked himself how that could have happened. He thought about it and his face wrinkled to a serious frown. Then, as if it were a wave crashing on top of the surf at high tide, a sudden, strange feeling came over him. He just knew it! He **had** heard it right. It **was **Sam screaming!—just as that bolt of electricity zapped him. But that same feeling told him that Sam was somewhere far away. But he couldn't be certain.

"That's not right!" he said with the same frown, doubting those strange thoughts. "Let's get to Sam's house! Something's wrong!"

"Well, of course we have to get to Sam! She's a part of the team, after all. A _close_ part!" Valerie said with a weak smile. She was really trying hard to put all her past behind now that there was so much at stake.

Tucker was so worried, he barely smiled in response. Yet, he still managed to quip, "Well, we _do_ have to take your wrist control band for a test run, you know."

Valerie didn't need any more prompting. She activated one of the buttons of her repaired wrist band and she instantly morphed into the Red Huntress.

"You know, it's a good thing you know that I know you're the Red Huntress now. I never really got the chance to tell you that I think you look _hot_ in that outfit!" He commented as he opened the window.

Her shaded helmet hid her blush but since she felt the warmth on her cheeks, she knew it was there. Still, she knew they had no more time for this. "C'mon, Tucker! We got to get going!" she insisted.

She followed that comment with a click of her heels and her hover-board instantly jumped out of her boots.

Without saying another word, Tucker quickly hopped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, trying to stay focused and ignore how nice it felt to be close to his girlfriend again.

Together, they glided out the window, and Valerie stopped right outside of it so that Tucker could close the window. Once he secured it, they soared toward Sam's house.

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They were there in no time and landed in the alley nearby. Valerie pressed a button and in an instant, she was back to her normal self. They dashed around the corner, halting just as they got to the door. Tucker rang the doorbell and waited.

Finally, Sam's grandmother opened it.

"Uhm, hello, Mrs. Manson. Is Sam home?" Tucker asked her, trying to control the worry in his voice.

"No, she isn't. But don't tell me that you also need to pick up something you let Sam borrow?" the old woman asked.

"Huh?" he replied, totally clueless of what she meant.

Valerie just stood silently by.

But Mrs. Manson quickly added, "Never mind! Jazzy was here not fifteen minutes ago looking for Sam, too. I thought she would be with you and Danny, Tucker. I don't like this. She usually…" But the old woman stopped her outward thoughts, and said instead, "I'm just worried. Her phone is dead."

Tucker gasped. Maybe Sam did go after Spectra in order to help Danny, and maybe now something had happened to her! But then, he had a sudden sick feeling about his female friend. Still, he controlled himself and truthfully replied. "Well, maybe she dropped it by accident. I did that very thing not more than an hour ago. But when I see her, I'll have her call you, OK?"

"Thank you, Tucker….and Valerie."

Valerie just smiled in slight embarrassment, but said nothing.

"You're welcome, and we have to go!" Tucker replied to Sam's grandmother.

No sooner had he said this when he lead the way away. Valerie quickly followed and they both dashed to the same alley in which they had first landed.

Mrs. Manson lingered a little longer at the door as she watched them dart into the alley. She frowned in puzzlement why they would do that, or at the strange sound she heard come out of it shortly after they entered it. She frowned a little more, but still finally closed the door.

Valerie quickly reverted back to the Red Huntress once they had gotten into the alley. She then turned to Tucker and said with chagrin, "Now what are we going to do?"

He pulled his lower lip in with both concentration and worry. He immediately replied, "Sam must have gone after Spectra after all. I understand why, but don't know why she would do that alone; though she's done a lot of crazy things before. Still, we need to go after her and Danny."

"But how are we going to get into the Ghost Zone?" his girl asked in worry.

Before he could explain that very cool feature about his nifty futuristic PDA, Valerie's ghost alarm was activated.

"Oh, no!" she cried, turning to him, and searching for his counsel. "Ghosts! And they're close by!"

He, of course, knew that that had been her ghost alarm, but he said, "You know what to do. I'll be right here. I got to figure out a few more things."

She smiled weakly, but he couldn't see that through her mask.

But just as she was about to bolt upward, he touched her shoulder.

She halted, frowning in confusion.

He didn't see her frown, but he smiled weakly at her and added, "And try to be a little merciful with them—if you can, I mean. OK?"

"OK," she softly said with a nod, returning in understanding his weak smile with her own. She then turned away and shot upward.

Her radar quickly homed in on the ghosts. She studied her data. Two ghost animals. But that was odd! One of them was small and one was much bigger—and different. She darted toward the direction her radar was showing her.

She could see that the ghosts were near the rooftops and she accelerated her hover-board in pursuit.

Finally, she spied them. She produced a large ectoplasmic ray gun and threw her eye at its sites. She suppressed her gasp. What? It looked like some kind of cat…and a bird? What were a ghost cat and a ghost bird doing together here? But she knew she couldn't waste any time. She steadied her gun, rechecked her aim, and fired. She growled when she missed her mark, and fired again…..


	48. Chapter 48 Chance Meeting

**A/N: I can't believe that it's Friday all ready! Hope you've had a great week! But, I'm sure ready for that update, so I'm very glad it's Friday! There's still LOTS to come! So, without further ado, IDNOAC and here is Chapter 48. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 48—Chance Meeting

Sarah and Derek both screamed when the reverberating impact of the red ectoplasmic blast struck the ground dangerously close to them. Though it was not a direct hit, Sarah, who was closer to the blast, got the brunt of its after-effects and was thrown several yards away from the impact site. Her little avian body landed in a heap and she lay still.

Derek, however, was only momentarily stunned by the blow. It helped that he not only was a little farther away, but, of course, his larger body could withstand the impact better. He quickly recovered and frantically searched for his wife. He gasped when he saw her crumpled, unmoving body in the near distance. But before he could go to her, another blast hit just about a foot from him. He yelped at the still powerful force when its upshot hit him. But he ignored the sting and instinctively leapt upward toward the source, barring his claws and fangs in anger.

Valerie looked at the two ghost animals as she neared them, and gasped when she saw that she had injured the small bird. She had only meant to scare them, just as any she would shoo away strange animals that may have wandered where they were not wanted. But the girl hadn't realized that both of her ectoplasmic rays had struck much closer to the two animals than she had intended. After all, she wasn't used to _just scaring_ ghosts away.

The Red Huntress then gasped when she caught sight of the ghost cat. But then, she frowned. That was _not_ a house cat…That was some kind of _wild_cat! And it was very clear that it had not been scared away when it was soaring upward right to her in attack. She set her gun's sites on him, and then, she thought of Cujo. She growled and steadied her aim. But then another thought demanded her attention. She growled again and this time lowered her gun. It was just a dumb animal—a ghost animal—but still an animal, and it, just like all animals, would react in either 'fight or flight' whenever being attacked. Just her luck that this one had obviously chosen the 'fight' mode. And she didn't want to tangle with a cat that had clearly not been anyone's pet before it passed to the Ghost Zone.

She pressed the button on her hover-board with her foot and dived downward and veered quickly to the right, well away from the charging lynx. She then turned back to the left, so that her path was a partial elliptical movement meant to widely avoid the wildcat.

The lynx, meanwhile, had seen a red entity in the general direction of where the ectoplasmic ray had come. But he startled a little when the form became clearer as he neared. It was some kind of knight in red armor! And for some reason, he was on some kind of magic flying board! How could that be? But the wildcat threw any fear or thoughts about it. He didn't care. With all that had happened to him and his wife, he now _despised all magic_ and would rather face the oblivion than bow to it again.

But then, he stopped in mid-flight when the strange flying red knight had changed directions and was now soaring _away_ from him. Confused by that tactic, the lynx nevertheless turned his body violently to the left, altering his course toward the direction where the knight had turned, and renewed his pursuit.

Valerie, meanwhile, looked to where the other ghost animal had been. She activated her built-in binoculars and even in the twilight, could easily see the dark speck on the snow-covered rooftop. And she could plainly see that the bird had not moved from its original position. She grew concerned and then gasped at her next thought. That wildcat was not angry that she attacked it. It was angry that she had interrupted its _dinner_—well, maybe not its dinner since did ghosts eat? She didn't know. But certainly a cat—ghost or no ghost—would only be interested in a bird as dinner or prey.

"_Ohmigosh, that poor little bird" _Valerie said to herself. _"I better go see if I can go help it. I hope it's not dead…uhm, I mean, badly hurt!" _

Once again, Valerie altered her course and headed right down to the still motionless dove.

The lynx, which had never lost track of the red knight, darted toward him again. But when the wildcat saw that his foe had changed his course once more, he gasped. Their attacker was now headed directly toward Sarah!

He anxiously pushed himself precipitously downward, desperately trying to intercept the crimson warrior before that fiend could reach his wife. But just as he had finally narrowed their gap sufficient enough that he could attempt an attack, Valerie suddenly jolted upward and away from the lynx. Her alarm had warned her of his approach just in time for her to avoid him.

Derek, of course, had not known of the flying knight's power to do that. But he was flying too fast to counter the knight's move. He struggled to slow his speed, especially when he saw what turned out to be a large TV satellite dish that was growing dangerously larger as he approached it. He pulled away with all his might trying to avoid the obstacle. His ghostly muscles tightened with the strain, and at first it looked as if he would succeed. But his efforts had been too late. One of his hind legs clipped the side of the saucer and that sent him tumbling out of control.

He then slammed into the leg of a nearby water tower and ricocheted off it. He tried desperately to slow his momentum, but couldn't. This time, he groaned when he felt his body slam into a bunch of rooftop furniture covered in snow, plowing a path into them. But at last, they slowed him, but not enough to keep him from rapidly plunging off the edge of that same building.

His head spinning as much as his body as it spiraled downward toward the ground, the wildcat finally plowed into the icy pavement within the alley right next to the building—and right at Tucker's feet.

Tucker yelled in alarm, not expecting a glowing black rocket coming out of nowhere to not only crash right next to him, but groan in pain instead of exploding. But then, the boy gasped with what he thought he heard next.

In his dizziness from the impact, Derek had not seen the boy. He struggled to get up, angrily chiding himself as he did, "Get up! You have to get up! Sarah is still in danger!"

The lynx stumbled to his feet and then gasped when he finally noticed the boy looking at _him _with just as much shock. It was the _very same_ teen to whom he and Sarah had given so much mischief as well as the other innocent couples! This was too much for the wildcat. His central core constricted violently with dread. Fate was certainly making another cruel point to punish him and his wife! All their sins were being rammed mercilessly into their faces—again! He didn't know if he could take any of this anymore.

"Are you a ghost? And did you just talk?" Tucker finally uttered, shaking his head in disbelief. He, of course, had not known about the two ghosts animals. He had been too upset with Valerie and his friends in the recent past, that neither Danny nor Sam had been able to tell him about the lynx and the dove. But Tucker immediately shrugged it off. He must have imagined it. Ghost animals couldn't speak. And when the angry wildcat finally did answer the teen, and that was with a definitely hostile growl and nothing more, Tucker knew he must have imagined its talking. But he certainly didn't imagine the cat's threat _now_. The boy recoiled in retreat, thinking it was about to strike. But instead, the lynx leapt upward and away, heading to his wife's aid.

But an instant later, the ghost animal was caught in a ghostly net, compliments of Tucker's PDA.

The wildcat immediately began to furiously lash at the netting, growling in anger as he desperately tried to rent it with his claws. But it held him firmly within it just the same.

"OK, little fella, I got you, so no use fighting. But don't worry. I won't hurt you," Tucker began, still pushing commands into his PDA as he did. He then continued, "Now, let's see if I can get you back into the Ghost Zone."

Derek stopped struggling, not knowing what the human meant by that. But then, he saw the boy press another button on that object in his hand and a small swirling green portal opened up. The wildcat's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight. He was doomed to be a victim of magic! Before he could react to that, the net which was still encasing him suddenly began to move, and to move _toward_ that same small portal!

This time, Derek panicked within the netting, trying to pull himself and the net away from the hole, roaring with fury as he did. Finally, when it was obvious to him that his efforts were futile, his only thoughts were of his wife. It no longer mattered to him to try to keep mute. Helping her was more important. He pleaded in earnest, "Please, merciful Sir! Please do not put me back into the Ghost Zone yet! My wife is still in danger and I must get back to her! Please, I beg you!"

Tucker reflexively pushed a button and the portal vanished. Flabbergasted with the scene, he stammered, "Y-You _did _talk! And did you say what I think you just said?"

Still encased within the ghost net, the lynx answered both of his questions. "Yes, I can speak and yes, I did say that! But I am at your mercy and have no time! My wife and I were attacked not too long ago even though we ourselves were trying to flee back into the Ghost Zone."

Tucker over-blinked several times, checking to see that he was awake and the ghost animal in front of him was indeed talking. It was unheard of, well, except for Vlad's buzzards—which didn't count.

But the lynx pulled Tucker out of his thoughts. "Please! I can only explain briefly, since time is of essence. My name is Derek, and my wife and I know that we should not be here. We had a fight in the Ghost Zone with another ghost. We accidentally fell into a portal there that had opened into the Real World." He briefly paused. He knew that this boy was friends with the couple he had wronged, Danny and Sam, and didn't want to reveal that. He continued, choosing his words carefully. "A young human couple found us and took care of us as we were recovering from our wounds. They were very kind to us during that time and it was only just recently that we were able to leave their homes. But, believe me, we are just as anxious to return to the Ghost Zone as you are to put me there. But we were just now attacked again. And my wife has been hurt!"

But Tucker hadn't really fully recovered from his initial shock from the fact that this ghost animal could talk. And he had not let the lynx go yet. He responded, "B-but you're a ghost _animal!_ And you have a _wife_? But ghost animals aren't supposed to talk! And aren't you evil, anyway?" He suddenly cringed when he realized what he had been saying. It must have all sounded so stupid to the ghost, since the wildcat was _obviously_ talking and really couldn't do anything while he was still caught in the net.

Derek was getting desperate, but had to control himself. He finally confessed, knowing he had better convince this boy soon to let him go, or else it would be too late for Sarah. "Please! Time is running out! And I deserve the punishment you are thrusting upon me at the moment. I have done some evil things to that human boy and human girl who helped me and my wife. And even though I do not clearly remember it, I know I have also done evil to…you and to your love."

"Me? And my love? Do you mean Valerie?" Tucker asked, now totally struck how this conversation had suddenly changed, and where it was going. He would have _definitely_ remembered _this_ ghost wildcat!

This time, Derek was desperate, as he had not yet been set free. He finally anxiously said, "I believe that is her name! But, please may your anger befall on me and not my wife! I still need to get to her! I swear to subject myself to your justice once she is safe! But we could not help what we did. We could not defend ourselves against the magic that haunts us! All we can do as ghosts is turn intangible, invisible and fly. And, of course, I have my feline weapons. But no more. We have no special powers that could have freed us from the merciless control of Spectra and her evil servant Bertrand at the time."

"Spectra? Bertrand? Tucker shouted, which startled the lynx. "Sorry!" the boy then said when he saw the animal's reaction. "Those two ghosts were here not even an hour ago and captured my friend Danny!"

"Alas! That is the name of the human boy of whom I spoke and who had helped my Sarah!" Derek cried, his face now in total anguish and extreme agitation.

"Sarah?"

"My wife," he hurriedly replied. "But, please, I give you my word that I will do anything you command of me and tell you all if you will just let me go to my wife before the Red Knight obliterates her!"

Finally, Tucker's sharp mind came into focus and began to quickly put things together... Valerie had detected some ghosts nearby just a few minutes ago. And then, this ghost animal suddenly appeared in this alley. This must be one of those ghosts! And what was this 'red knight'? The animal must have been referring to Valerie! The wildcat had mistaken her for that! And Valerie was about to waste this ghost animal's wife, er, mate?...

"Well, I can stop the 'red knight', so let's get going, then!" Tucker firmly said.

He pushed a button and the ghost-securing net vanished from around the lynx. The wildcat immediately began to take flight. But when he saw at the corner of his eye that Tucker was running, rather than flying, after him, he quickly twisted back and asked, "What is wrong?"

"I can't fly," the boy gingerly answered.

"I see. I am sorry. I thought most humans could do that in this time period. Grab quickly onto my fur and I will help you!" Derek insisted.

Tucker nodded weakly and Derek was at his feet before he could blink. As soon as Tucker had grabbed a tuft of his fur, the lynx immediately bolted upward, ignoring the boy's thrilled yell in response to his sudden wild ride.

Once they were high enough, Derek searched the area frantically, trying to get his bearings. He gasped when he spotted a red spot on one of the snow-laden rooftops a distance away. Acting on his hunch, he poured on his speed toward it, pulling Tucker along.

As they neared, Tucker could also see that the red spot Derek had seen was Valerie! And she was squatting right next to something!

_**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxx **_

Valerie helplessly watch as the lynx she had just avoided bounced off that satellite dish, and then like a pinball swatted by the machine's boxing arms, ricocheted off the water tower and into some furniture before falling off the edge of that building so far away.

She hadn't recognized into which alley the wildcat had fallen, but she had already had decided at that point to check on it in a minute. Right now, however, she felt she should turn her attention to the smaller black ghost that was nearer to her.

She slowly approached the small black bird, keeping her gun cocked just in case. But she could see that it was so small…how could it ever be a threat to her? Still, Valerie kept her guard up and her weapon aimed at the little ghost animal.

Just as she came upon it, Valerie gasped. It was a dove! And beautiful one, too! And it was groaning…like a human would! And it sounded like a _girl_ groaning. But she quickly shrugged that off. That was impossible!

But when the dove heard _Valerie's_ gasp, she startled, her wings fanning violently outward in a terrified shudder. Her head was still muddled from the Red Huntress' attack, and when she chanced to look up and saw a huge red entity hovering on some kind of magical board near her, she startled more violently, quickly flapping her wings until her feet were on the ground.

Valerie gasped in alarm this time at the bird's reaction and readied her gun.

The dove, however, didn't attack her as Valerie had thought it would. Instead, the ghost animal fell to a heap again at the Red Huntress' feet and lay still once more. It had obviously not recovered from her attack yet; and it was then that Valerie realized that the ghost must have been just as frightened as she at her approach.

Valerie jumped off her hover-board and squatted down next to the small bird.

"Uhm, hello," Valerie squeamishly said and then grunted in embarrassment. She just realized that she must have sounded awfully _dumb_ since she was talking to a ghost _animal._

At the sound of this very different human—and female—voice, the dove struggled to pull herself up once again, pushing down on the snowy ground with her outspread wings. She slowly lifted her head toward that voice. She startled, but held her scream in with all her might at the sight: a red-armored knight was towering over her! She knew she could not lose control any more. She had done that too openly in the past with disastrous results. Still, Sarah trembled in fear.

Valerie noticed how frightened the little bird was and suddenly, she was moved to pity.

"It's OK," she found herself gently saying, "I won't hurt you." But with chagrin she mentally added, _"Uh, anymore…_" Still, she then said, "It's just that you're a ghost and should not be here. Are you badly hurt?"

Sarah stopped trembling at the kindness she heard in that voice. Still, why was this girl wearing a knight's suit? Was she some kind of warrior? Sarah's head was still spinning, and she suddenly felt that she needed to keep her guard up, and stay mute.

And then, she startled again at her next focused thoughts. Derek! Where was he? She nervously searched around and beyond the red-armored girl, seeking signs of her husband. But suddenly, she felt extremely dizzy again and stumbled back to the ground.

Valerie noticed the ghost animal's odd behavior before it had fallen again. She'd never seen any bird act like that before. But before she could react to the bird's newest collapse, her ghost alarm blared. The ghost bird jumped a little at the sound.

Valerie quickly scanned the area and saw—Tucker flying?

"Valerie, STOP!" the teen cried as he neared her.

She stood upright, just in time to see Tucker let go of the wildcat and drop to the rooftop right next to her. She frowned at his outburst. Stop what?

Derek, meanwhile, had not slowed in flight when Tucker had let go. His mind had been focused only on his conviction that the Red Knight was about to hurt his wife again, and he immediately pounced upon the fiend.

But just as Derek had knocked Valerie down and was about to thrash her with his claws, Tucker quickly intervened and yelled, "NO, Derek, WAIT! That's VALERIE!"

Though confused by the boy's remark, the lynx immediately disengaged, and pulled himself upward and away from the red knight. After all, he had given his word to obey the boy. But he was suddenly furious at what that might mean. In the next instant, he soared to his fallen wife and stood guard right over her. And this time, he bared his fangs and angrily hissed, "What do you mean by that? Did you send your warrior lady to purposely hurt us, then?"

At first, Valerie, who was starting to get up off the ground, was shocked. Did _that_ animal just speak? But as she stood up, and even though she was still shaken by the fact that a ghost animal was talking, she managed to reply, "N-No, h-he didn't, but you are right. I did hurt you, but I didn't do it on purpose. I-I was trying to scare you away. But I'm not going to hurt you anymore, I promise!"

"You're not?" Tucker asked incredulously. He was too shocked about her change of heart to notice how livid the lynx still was.

Looking at Tucker, her softened eyes hidden behind her mask, she gently said, "No, I'm not." She instantly deactivated her suit after she said that.

Derek jolted a little at her transformation, but maintained his defensive stance. Though confused by what all this meant, he was still fearful for his wife. He heatedly seethed through his fangs, "I can see that you are not to be trusted after all! And you wish to thwart us in our mission!"

"I'm sorry!" Valerie pleaded, daring to inch closer to the lynx. He tensed up, but she still pressed on. "I didn't know you were special ghosts! Most ghosts come here just to mess around."

The lynx blinked in confusion and muttered, "I do not understand."

She frowned in chagrin and answered, "I mean, I thought you were evil, and that you wanted to do evil things to _us_."

The lynx growled in indignation at her explanation; but suddenly, he heard another groan. It was from the dove which was still lying under and between the protection of his legs.

Instantly forgetting about the two humans, he moved quickly off of her and brought his head down toward her. He gently nudged her and anxiously called to her, "Sarah?"

"Derek?" she moaned, lifting her head a little as she did. She still was having trouble focusing her eyes on him and had not noticed the two nearby teens. Nevertheless, she was able to ask, "Are you all right?"

Though both relieved and touched by her own concern for him, he answered, "Yes, Dearest. I am well. Are you all right?"

Sarah replied, "Yes, I think so, my love. Do not worry. I think I can still travel."

But he was still doubtful that she was all right. "I am relieved. But only if you are certain that you have recovered," he gently insisted, before adding, "And it is as you feared, Sarah. I have just learned that the boy who was so kind to you has indeed been captured by that evil ghost Spectra. And we are still in the Real World on top of a building. But that is not all. We now have company. But, I am not certain any more if we are in the company of that boy's friends since they harmed us..."

Tucker bit his lower lip and Valerie gagged her gasp. They were both still a little stunned about these two; and now they realized that the wildcat must have been talking about Danny. And now, both were upset at the lynx's accusation!

But before they could object, the bird tried the move but stumbled again.

That stunned Tucker and Valerie to silence as they looked on.

Sarah's mind cleared at her husband's words and she finally glanced around. She jolted a little when she finally saw Tucker and Valerie. They looked...familiar! But then, she turned back to her husband and said with resolve, "Though the memory is vague, I am certain that we have deserved their abomination for what we did to them, too, Husband! Still, we are at their mercy and even yet, they have not deemed to harm us further. Perhaps, we have mistaken their intentions, my love."

She paused and glanced at the teens and when she saw how sorry and anxious their faces were, she suddenly felt that she had been right. Still, she did not want to bring any more shame to her husband. She pulled herself up and steadied her feet underneath her before saying, "But all that matters is that we have our amends to make. So then, the urgency of the situation gives me strength, Husband. We must not waste any more time."

Moved by her courage, he smiled in determination and firmly replied, "Then, let us go, beloved Wife."

He respectfully extended his paw out to her. She reached for it with her wing and pulled herself upward as he supported her.

Tucker and Valerie had kept silent so far. They were overall dumbfounded by the scene at seeing two animals not only being so affectionate and concerned for the other, but how odd they acted. And somehow knew about Danny.

Finally, Sarah was fully recovered and she flitted up to the nape of the lynx. She gently pecked his head when she had reached her place, and he flicked his ear in acknowledgement. Then, both of them turned to face the humans.

Though Sarah still could not focus on the vague memory of these two humans, she heeded her husband's words that the two teens in front of them must be Sir Danny's friends. She soberly told them, "We must now make haste. We believe that your friend, Sir Danny, is in grave danger. It is because of the evil we had done to him and his lady Sam…" She paused, then addressing Tucker, added, "And somehow also to you, kind Sir. But we have made ourselves an oath to make amends. We will not abandon our pledge, but we do not wish any more harm to you or any other human. This evil is our own to dispel…"

"Please, uhm, Miss Sarah," Tucker gently interrupted. "But we can help you more than you think. Danny's my…." He stopped, suddenly turned to Valerie, and added, "I mean, _our_ friend, and friends don't abandon friends. And if we all work together, we will be quite a team, right, Valerie?"

She blushed a little at his complement, but said, "Right, Honey." She pushed a button and instantly became the Red Huntress again.

Sarah startled a little at Valerie's change, but she felt the lynx underneath her had not flinched, and she immediately calmed.

Then speaking for the both of them, Derek said, "Maybe my dear wife is right about you and you had meant us no harm. And the fact that you wish to help us in our mission after all has redeemed your actions against us. And, by your leave, may it also redeem our actions against you if we agree to your company in this grave undertaking. Forgive us for not seeing it in the beginning. We have faced too much evil of late. But, maybe there is more hope after all, especially since you, too, are willing to risk the safety of yourselves for your friend. We understand now that you must be very special humans as well as Sir Danny. And also, now we can plainly see how lucky Sir Danny is in having friends like you." He paused just a moment before adding, "But we cannot help you find Spectra or her servant. We do not have the power to enter into the Ghost Zone."

Tucker smiled in relief that he and Valerie seemed to have won their trust. He proudly announced, "No sweat!" just before pushing a few buttons. An energy beam obediently issued forth and formed a green swirling portal large enough for all four of them to enter.

"You can produce a portal anytime you want?" Valerie gasped in disbelief and awe.

Tucker suddenly remembered the incident between the portal and Valerie. "Uhm, yes, well, about that…I'll tell you more about it when all of this is over, OK?" Tucker sheepishly said. "In the meantime, we need to get going."

"But what about Sam?" Valerie objected, her face clearly full of concern.

The two ghost animal's eyes widened at Valerie's question. Was Sir Danny's lady in danger, too?

Tucker weakly smiled when he could see that his girl was sincere in her question. He answered her, "We, of course, don't know where…she…is…" He suddenly slowed his thoughts before adding, "…but I have a feeling that she's already on her way…" He paused slightly and then jolted at his next thought. He suddenly had a strong feeling that he knew was true. "No, she's already there, and…." He frowned in slight confusion with why he just knew that his very next thought was true, "And she's in trouble, too. I can…uhm, feel it!"

Valerie frowned with confusion when her boyfriend sounded so definite. But when he turned to her and she looked into his eyes, she jolted a little. He was _very_ serious. She swallowed hard, a little spooked by that look, but just the same, said with just as much gravity, "Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

Not needing any more encouragement, the human couple and the ghost couple dove into the swirling green portal and plunged into the Ghost Zone.


	49. Chapter 49 Off Track

**A/N: Well, how has everyone's week been? And how has your Friday been? All I can emphasize is **_**TGIF**_** because I'm so glad that Friday's here! And that means an update. Hope you can feel the wave as it begins to surge! Let's hang on tight! Here is Chapter 49. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 49—Off Track

Sam groaned. She could swear that her head was split wide open! She reached for her forehead, slowly opening her amethyst eyes just as she winced in pain again. She gasped when her blurry vision finally cleared and she saw that she was in some kind of purple energy bubble just big enough to encase her; and it was moving. How she did she get here of all places? She immediately pulled herself up onto her knees and began to pound upon her energy cell; but then, just as quickly, she stopped after she peered through it and saw Danny!

He was in another similar bubble not too far from her and though that orb was also moving, he was not. She could not see any obvious wounds on him—well, except for his small head wound. She then jolted at her next thought. Hadn't she just seen Valerie's ugly black missiles just moments before they should have obliterated him? Then how could he be here seemingly with hardly a scratch? She cringed; well, except for that 'still being unconscious' part.

She searched her mind for what had happened. But all she had was a blur of a memory…of some kind of purplish-red dome. She shook her head. She must have been confusing her memory with the real existence of the purple bubbles in which she and her boyfriend currently were.

She glanced over to Danny again, still searching for any other signs of injury. Not that she really cared at this point to wonder why he had no other injuries. She was just more relieved now that at least he was _alive_!... Maybe those missiles weren't that powerful after all. Maybe he was just unconscious because they had just been little missiles that had impacted him—at least, that's what she hoped! Still, she frowned in confusion, analyzing the details of her clearing memory…Those missiles hadn't looked that 'little'. They had been _huge _and had looked wicked and _deadly_.

Even though she was still perplexed about that, she was more relieved and thankful that at least Danny hadn't been killed. She sighed with that thought. But then, she was hit with a more demanding thought. They certainly weren't out of danger yet! She immediately switched gears with that realization, trying to ignore her headache and get more focused. She began to examine her surroundings.

Passing green, black and purple blurs were very apparent as their orbs continue to move. She looked more diligently at the area beyond their bubbles. There were various pink and purple rectangular forms also whizzing by. And from how they were glowing, those could only be ghostly doors that dotted the green, black and purple atmosphere. She gasped. That would definitely mean that they were in the Ghost Zone!

She looked back to where Danny was and through her violet veil she could see that his sphere was attached to a thick purple energy cord. Her eyes followed the ray upward, searching for its source. And she gasped again. The cord was attached to Spectra! The girl glanced over to another energy ray that emanated from the evil ghost's other hand. It led to her bubble, and Sam instantly knew that she and her boyfriend were now prisoners.

She glanced up at the ghost again. She narrowed her eyes, searching her mind when seeing the female ghost sparked another thought. Then she jolted. She was now certain _Spectra_ had been that shadow ghost who had overshadowed her! And now _everything_ made sense! It _had_ to be her! Of course Spectra _would_ _have _wanted Danny and her to break up so that the shadow ghost could absorb all their misery from it!

She squelched the panic that suddenly tried to seize her. But then she frowned, trying to shove it away…She sighed, slightly relieved when she succeeded. At least that got rid of her headache! But she also knew she had to keep a level head. She looked over to Danny again. He was still not moving. She had better think of something soon before Spectra could reach her destination and certainly _not_ have anything _good_ in store for either she or her boyfriend.

The girl sat down within the natural curve of her passenger globe and closed her eyes. Before, it was accidental, triggered by the heat of the moment. But now, she had to see. This was the only way now. And she had to pull it off! She concentrated, determined to reach her target: her boyfriend's unconscious mind.

At first, she could feel nothing, but she wouldn't give up. She forced herself to focus all her attention on Danny. Suddenly, she felt a slightly painful pressure in her mind, a feeling that she now recognized as her telepathic power doing its thing. And just as sudden, she felt dizzy, as if she would be sucked right into that endless abyss, forever lost in its desolation. But a moment later, the blackness in her mind began to ebb and she could see random thoughts…._Danny's_ random thoughts!

She wondered if…She opened her eyes slightly, making certain that she remained fixated on her task. She looked over to her boyfriend and saw that he was stirring! Encouraged by this attempt, she concentrated harder, ignoring the sting of the mental effort. But then, unexpectedly, her cell phone rang and she lost their connection.

Just as she reached for it, the energy bubble she was within suddenly stopped and then disappeared just before the teen became engulfed in a large purple energy beam that was now shaped like a hand. Spectra had projected that beam from her own hand and it was now pinning Sam's arms at her sides. It held the girl tightly and Sam ignored the annoying electrical-like hum her bonds made.

All the while, the girl didn't lose her grip on the cell phone. She could not, however, have known that this was the _second_ time it had rung. She had been unconscious the first time when Jazz had tried to reach her but had gotten Sam's answering message instead.

As the phone rang, Sam reflexively struggled against the firm hold of Spectra's ray, trying to answer it. Her movements made the humming of the purple energy beam resonate in different pitches. She just knew it had to be either Tucker or Jazz!

Spectra laughed as she reeled the girl in towards her like a fish on a hook, tightening her energy grip as she did.

Still, Sam managed to push the connecting button on the phone as she grunted against the constricting force around her. She hoped the sudden higher, whiny pitch the beam made with her struggle to bring the phone to her mouth wouldn't drown out her call. And she knew she had a fifty-fifty chance that her hunch on who it could be was right. Finally, the girl was just barely successful in curling her elbow upward and thus pulling the phone to her mouth. She took in a deep breath, before pushing outward with both of her upper arms and the force of her lungs at the same time. She hoped that her effort would be enough so that she would be able to call out to the person who was on the other end of the phone line.

"Tuc—" she began before grunting against her bonds when they retightened. Sam tried to counter them again, but an instant later, Spectra's energy grasp constricted with more spite. Sam screamed in pain at the force even as she still reflexively tried to resist the shadow ghost's assault. Nevertheless, her efforts couldn't prevent her bonds from not only pinning her arms to her sides again, but they also started to squeeze the air out of her lungs. Sam felt her head spin at the sudden loss in oxygen with the blow. She went limp, struggling this time to breathe as she felt herself being pulled even closer to Spectra. Still, the girl managed to tighten her grip on her cell phone. And, unfortunately, all she could hear was her own wheezing and that annoying electrical-sounding hum. So, she couldn't hear Tucker's frantic answer to her partial yell…

As soon as Sam was within an arm's length of Spectra, the shadow ghost dissolved her energy beam around the weakened girl; and Sam, now panting, remained floating in place. This was the girl's chance. Determined to keep resisting, Sam once more struggled to bring the cell phone up high enough to yell into it.

But before she could, Spectra growled, angry at herself for underestimating the puny human. She shot out another energy beam that quickly snatched the cell phone from out of the girl's hand and sent a riveting energy pulse through it. The tiny electronic device fizzled and shook before exploding at the onslaught. The shadow ghost next charged up her energy and recaptured the girl within her large purple ectoplasmic hand and brought Sam up to her so that they were now face-to-face.

Smiling wickedly at the tightly bound and gasping girl, Spectra hissed, "Sorry you woke too soon! You should wish you hadn't. Now that I have you, I plan to put on a show for your little boyfriend! And after that, I'm sure he will do whatever I say to keep me from hurting you more! And I'll be able to keep him in my power for all eternity-or until he perishes. Whichever comes first makes no difference to me, though I hope the time in between is not only very long, but, more importantly, _very painful_ just the same!"

Sam growled in defiance, making a more concerted effort to pull against the shadow ghost's force. But her sharp mind told her that she needed to make Spectra _believe_ she had succeeded in making her break up with Danny. And she had to make the evil ghost believe she and Danny no longer cared for each other!

Even though she couldn't budge and was still gasping for air, she nevertheless managed to convey a brazen response, "I don't think… he'll care one way or another, Spectra!... And neither…do I! In case you don't know,…. he's _not_ my boyfriend…anymore…We've _already_ broken up, and…. seeing me again is…. the _last _thing on Danny's mind…And that…goes double for me…as far as seeing him again! So, you're not gonna win, you witch!"

"Funny. Your boyfriend said the same thing about knowing about my plans. But funnier still. I think I already have won. And I think you're bluffing…" She paused a moment at a sudden memory. This girl was tough, and it was very well possible that she would have gotten over her break-up. But then again, it would also be very possible that the girl was putting on a good ruse herself, since Bertrand's machine had detected such a high level of energy between the two silly teens.

Spectra narrowed her eyes in suspicion, studying the girl's face. But she could find no hint of deception in Sam's expression. Spectra mentally growled in frustration over that fact. Now, she _hoped_ that the girl was bluffing. She wanted those pheromones! And if these two silly teens weren't in misery over their break-up, then she wouldn't be getting those pheromones she craved: namely, Danny's.

But she also wasn't about to let the girl in on any of her doubts….Suddenly, she thought about what Danny said about her not winning. He _didn't_ specifically mention about breaking up with Sam! _Now_ she had the girl! She insisted once more, "I _still_ think you're bluffing. At least I don't think that Danny's gotten over your break-up that quickly." She paused only briefly before adding, "Besides, I don't think you—and your other pesky friend-would've come to his defense back in the Real World and attack me if you still didn't care for him. I can still get more of what I want from breaking up you two silly teens…." Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and a dark smile captured her face. "Or I can break you both—permanently. So, I'm sure that it's not quite the complete end for you two—yet."

She suddenly chuckled. But her laugh was both flip and insidious. "Besides, no matter what happens, it'll be fun for me. I so do love all that wonderful agony humans are so easily persuaded to wallow in—once they are given the right…circumstances." She paused at her next thought and sneered through gritted teeth, "And I want to know just how you were able to resist my overshadowing you, little girl!"

Sam tried to control her surprise at the news. So, Spectra _knew_ that she had been able to thwart the ghost's control over her!

But Spectra had noticed the tiny reaction of the goth girl and laughed, "So, _you_ do know all about that, huh? Then, this will be even more interesting!" The shadow ghost ended that comment by thrusting a powerful pulse within her energy clutches surrounding the girl.

Sam immediately screamed as her body absorbed the painful energy. Try as she might, however, Sam could not fight the sudden spinning of the atmosphere, as the greens, purples and blacks whirled before her dazed eyes until the colors finally melded into a senseless blackness.

Spectra laughed at how easy it had been to disable the girl, and immediately encased the listless teen within another energy bubble.

And Spectra then started back to her lair with her two captives.

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Jazz frantically tried to think of what to do once she returned to her home. Her effort to reach Danny, Sam or Tucker through their cell phones had failed. She couldn't even get in touch with her parents because they were still in the Ghost Zone and must be out of range. And now, those two ghost animals she had helped had tricked her and left her all alone without a clue on how to get to her brother or friends!

Her mind was suddenly alive, searching for possible ways to help. Hey! Maybe she could use the Boo-merang to find Danny! But then she groaned when she remembered her parents' note—THEY had it—and the Specter Speeder!...Then, maybe, she could use her booster rocket and the Fenton portal to search for them in the Ghost Zone. But then she groaned again. She had no idea, of course, where to begin to look for any ghost or the other members of Team Phantom. Besides, she had never gone into the Ghost Zone without her brother or friends and without a map. MAP!

She quickly ran to her brother's room. She frantically searched through her brother's things, hoping to find the map that she, Sam and Tucker had used during the Poisoned Ghost War. But she couldn't find it! Maybe Danny had gotten smarter and put it in a good hiding place after all. But in reality, she didn't know that Danny had gotten rid of it all together, now that he had that special Ghost Zone GPS system programmed into his cell phone. Besides, the map that her brother used to have was incomplete, and the new GPS system—and his own internal one-had made it unnecessary to complete it.

Now totally discouraged now that her options seemed to come to a dead end, Jazz plopped down hard on the nearby chair. She sighed in defeat, and trying to fight back her frustrated tears, stared out the window.

But a glimmer of hope somehow still managed to peek out from the corner of her moist eyes. Her brother and friends were very resourceful; and they were sometimes unreachable when they were ghost-hunting. They would get back to her whenever they could. She frowned again in worry. But, she had to cling to that hope. That's all she could really do at this point. Hope…and pray…..

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The Red Huntress penetrated the Ghost Zone on her hover-board, all the while ever mindful that Tucker was in tandem with her on her board. She checked on the two ghost animals at their side. She was amazed on how easy it was for them to keep abreast with the two teens as they all soared toward Spectra's lair.

As they flew onward, Sarah and Derek divulged everything that they knew on what had happened in the past several weeks to all the teens with whom they had come in contact. They also reiterated all their worries over Danny and now their new worry over Sam.

Hearing the two ghosts' story of all the events at school unfold, Tucker couldn't help but feel guilty once more about suspecting Sam of any wrongdoing. He should have trusted Sam more and should have remained loyal to her in spite of the evidence mounted against her. He should have known better. After all, he knew her as well as Danny. He refused to listen to her defense at first; and had even rejected it. And he had ignored the nagging feeling that he had all along: that her unexplained behavior had been that—unexplained and totally _un_like her.

He also felt ashamed on how he had lashed out at his friends during his own personal turmoil with Valerie. He had even just about told them to take a hike on more than one occasion. Or he had completely ignored them. He then startled at the next thought. _Both_ of his friends had really been _very_ supportive of him during all that time. Actually, they had been _more_ supportive then they should have been, given that he hadn't given them an inch of an explanation of what he was going through until he had blown up on Sam a few hours ago. He _should_ have trusted them. He realized now that they would have tried to help him if only he had let them. And they would have understood.

He bit his lip at that last thought. But, if he knew them as well as he thought he did, they _would_ understand in the end and roll with it. He smiled weakly, and then set a sober thought in his mind. He would no longer hesitate to trust them in the future.

After Derek and Sarah finished talking about all the events concerning Danny and Sam, they finally got to the part where they were supposed to break up Tucker and Valerie as well. However, they then explained that it was not in Spectra's original plans to have done that before they had broken up Danny and Sam...

Tucker thought about all those crazy things that had happened between Valerie and him during the time when he thought Armen was hitting on Valerie, and Alice was hitting on him. Now that he knew that those teens had been overshadowed by Derek and Sarah, he sighed in relief. But then, he wondered why he did that. He had not felt in the least that Valerie would have cheated on him. She was not that type—and neither was he for that matter. Still, those happenings had led to their break-up in a very different way. But now, Tucker felt that he could bury those memories, though, again, he was kinda glad he had them now, even if he had to suffer with all that turmoil. If he hadn't, their relationship would not have had the chance to truly blossom. He certainly hoped that Valerie felt the same….

And indeed she did. Valerie's feelings were also going a million miles a minute while listening to Sarah and Derek's story. She _had_ gotten Tucker, Danny and Sam all wrong. Now that she knew Danny's secret, she had had _no idea_ how...brave…and amazing these three best friends were. Or that not only were they constantly fighting ghosts, but they also tried to live relatively quiet—even unpopular—lives at school. If the kids at Casper High only knew about these three, and how resourceful and ultra-cool they really were, Danny, Sam and Tucker would be the most popular kids _ever_ in the history of the school.

But the dark-skinned girl stopped short of dwelling more on that thought. That _was_ it. These three best friends _could _have had all the popularity they wanted, anytime, right for the taking. The thing was they _didn't want_ that kind of popularity. They wanted to do what was _right without_ the fanfare—only _because_ it was right! Otherwise, why wouldn't they have already exploited that easily grabbed opportunity?

She suddenly felt ashamed once more about her own shallow desire to be the center of attention, to be popular; and how she was willing to hate and destroy ghosts, even Danny, all because she lost that petty, worthless goal…And, of course, all because of her other bottled-up hurts, frustrations and hatred.

And now, she totally understood everything about the three. Why hadn't she seen it before? Tucker's frequent and unexplained absences. Danny and Sam's secretiveness. But then, she stopped chiding herself. Not that she really could have noticed it all. After all, she herself had been mega-busy with ghost hunting, school and her job at the _Nasty Burger_. Still, it did seem at the time that they had been avoiding her or had been indifferent to her, as if they were way into _themselves _and really were blasé about _her_.

She paused at her next thought. Except for Sam. Valerie had _never_ mistaken the subtle and hostile vibes she had always gotten from _her _whenever the goth girl was near. At first, she had thought that that was just the girl's personality. After all, Sam was a goth, and had strong opinions. But now, Valerie understood. Sam hadn't _trusted_ her—and with good cause. After all, Sam _must have_ hated her for always wanting to waste her boyfriend. So, of course Sam would have been hostile toward her. And that meant that Sam was probably the most honest member of the three best friends when she was dealing with her. Yet, the girl also must have been incredibly loyal to her friends because Sam had never blown her off in front of her friends—_for the sake_ of her friends—especially for _Tucker's _sake!

Valerie frowned in shame. Suddenly—oddly—she wanted to be friends with Sam now. If Sam was ever to be her friend, then Valerie just knew that Sam would be unquestionably loyal—and honest—with her.

Honesty. And trust. Those had been the issues all along. Especially between her and Tucker. How odd. She now understood that as well. Tucker couldn't have been totally honest with her without betraying his friends—and without betraying her as well! And yet, he _had been_ honest with her and had trusted her in everything _else_ that didn't have to do with his friends' secret, with ghost hunting or with the Red Huntress. He had been sincere and that made her feel very warm inside.

That must have been a real challenge for him to walk on that fine line. She had not put him in an easy position with that. Yet, really, he had put himself in that position by asking her out in the first place. Why had he done that? Oh, yeah, he told her… Because he had felt sorry for her, and didn't want her to grow up to be bitter and full of hate. But, why would he have felt that way? He hadn't known anything of her past then. How could he have known any of that even being a possibility? She made a mental note to ask him about that some day.

Her thoughts then drifted to a different kind of feeling: Danny. But, strangely, her feelings toward him held an entirely different perspective on her now. And suddenly, now that her hate was gone, they were confusing, like they had been before she had first started dating Tucker. After all, Danny had once been special to her. But then, another thought pushed forward. And she sighed in relief as it shattered her uncertainty. She now knew that he was not _the_ special one for her.

Even still, the fact that Danny had once been special to her was probably the reason why she wasn't upset anymore about finding out about his secret. She couldn't continue to be angry at him when he still had a small corner of her heart. He probably always would. Not that she expected anything of it anymore. She just now understood that she really was no different than most people who had given part of their heart away. They—and now she—would always remember that brief sweetness they had shared with someone special at a magical time in their lives, even if, in the end, they weren't ever meant to be. And, really, that was OK now. She knew that Danny had finally realized that he had his true love right by his side way longer than when she had ever come upon the scene.

Valerie laughed gently to only herself. She really had already guessed that ever since she caught Danny and Sam in their own 'scene': and that was when she caught them kissing when she had first became the Red Huntress and was going after Phantom and Cujo.

And now she had Tucker…Not that he was a consolation prize in the least…it was just that…that she was more than certain now that he was _the_ special one for her after all…and their love was the real thing, too, since it had survived so much turmoil already…

Valerie's thoughts melted away just as Derek and Sarah finally finished with their story. And as the two couples flew onward in silence, everything that had happened and everything that they now needed to do now filled all of their minds.

Suddenly, Valerie saw from the corner of her eye that the ghost animals had slowed considerably down. She instantly matched their speed, and then followed them when they headed toward a large boulder on a nearby floating green ghost shelf.

Derek and Sarah landed right behind the boulder, making certain that they would be hidden from any eyes peeking out of the wicked sorceress' home. They patiently waited for Valerie and Tucker to join them.

Tucker jumped right off the hover-board and darted right up to the ghost animals, while Valerie followed him, uncertain why they had stopped.

As she came up to the trio, she got her answer.

Tucker was looking from around their hiding place and over to a small grey castle-like home perched on another shelf nearby. It, unlike a few other 'regular' ghostly lairs, didn't just display its front door to the casual observer in the Ghost Zone. Most ghosts liked the single door entrance to their lairs, but other ghosts found that irksome and confusing whenever they tried to quickly find their home. And Spectra was among those ghosts who did prefer an obvious lair over the covert ones that hid behind lone doors. But her little 'castle-in-the-sky' was much smaller than most similar buildings and had short, blunt-tip, flagless minarets on only the four corners of the structure. And its lone lavender door looked very similar to all the other doors in the Ghost Zone.

"OK, I can see we are very near Spectra's lair," Tucker said, pulling himself back behind the boulder and rechecking his PDA's coordinates. "Where do you think would be a good place to start?"

Derek and Sarah looked at each other before Derek hesitantly said, "We know of a small window in a hardly used room on the far eastern end of the lair." He motioned with his head and continued, "You can easily see it from here."

The foursome was so close to Spectra's abode, they had no difficulty finding that small aperture. And it could only be the one to which the enchanted wildcat had referred because it was the smallest window in that part of the lair.

But before they could comment, Derek added, "But, we have honestly not thought any more than that."

When she heard that, Valerie gasped, "You mean, you don't have a plan?"

The two animals shook and then dropped their heads, too ashamed to verbally admit that.

And when they saw the ghost couple's reaction, Valerie and Tucker reflexively looked at each other and groaned.


	50. Chapter 50 In the Snare

**A/N: Hey, looks like it's time for an updated. Goin' to get revved up from now on. Hope you like and hope you throw your thoughts at me! Here is Chapter 50. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 50—In the Snare

Danny groaned at the raw throbbing he felt in his head, becoming more painfully aware that he was now slowly drifting back into consciousness. And then just as sudden, he felt weak all over and his mind began to float unexpectedly again, as if he might pass right back out. He tried to fight that sensation, groaning with the effort, and wondering why his body felt so heavy.

But Danny didn't know that he had actually tried to regain consciousness several times all ready—-all without success. And that was because Spectra had taken control of Bertrand's little machine, readily zapping the teen as soon as he stirred. She couldn't wait to suck his pheromonal energy out of him right away; and therefore sent Danny right back into senselessness each time.

But then, Danny's dazed mind thought he heard a female voice say, "Looks like he's finally coming to again!"

The boy's muddled mind jolted to more clarity in the next instant when he heard another voice. But this time, it was a male's voice. And it was clearly _irritated_ as it chided, "Well, if you would just leave him be for just **two seconds**, he might recuperate enough so that trying to get more out of him would be worth it, Spectra! You can't get any more out of him while he's unconscious and you can't keep taking from a drying well if there's no rain to replenish it!"

"There ya go, again, Bertrand, with those stale catch phrases," Spectra dryly remarked, ignoring the fact that she could tell that he was really ticked off.

"Oh, please…" he began with a roll of his eyes. But then he grunted in irritation and yanked the machine out of her hands.

She quickly tried grabbing the machine back as she objected, "Wait!"

"No, you wait, Spectra!" he growled back, pulling the machine closer to his bosom.

This time, she frowned but did as Bertrand said; and they both silently turned to look at the rousing boy.

Danny frowned in confusion at the resultant silence and groaned when he tried to move again. But he felt a resistance and reflexively struggled against what felt like bindings. He slowly opened his eyes, wondering why he could hardly move. But when he did, his double vision first met two sets of eyes, before the single pair of blood-red menacing eyes finally came into focus. He jolted in reaction and pulled on his bonds again. But the metal clamps held both of his arms and legs firmly against the wall. Each of his arms was at eye level and pinned against either side of him. And his feet, though touching the floor, were far enough apart so that he couldn't use them with any leverage.

This time, Spectra chuckled when she realized that the boy was now awake. "Well, well," she smugly began, immediately drawing herself into his line of vision. "Weren't expecting to see me, were you, Danny?"

But she didn't wait for his response. She drew her face even closer to his and sneered in triumph. "For a moment, neither did I when your pesky little friends interfered as they did back then. They're getting pretty good, I should say, and they almost took me out. But they didn't, of course. And I didn't even make that ghost-fighter-in-red's day, though it looked to me that she was after any fair ghost game, including you. But it doesn't matter about her, either, because we took care of all of them, right, Bertrand?"

Her words finally snapped the young hybrid's mind to attention and he felt his heart burn with fear. He was finally able to mutter in his slurred, yet demanding, voice, "W-What d-do you mean? W-What did you do to them? If you had so much as tou…"

She smiled smugly again before interrupting him, "My, you still manage to sound awfully defiant even when you're in no condition to back up that threat. But, just as well! Whatever it takes to get your strength back is just fine with me! And as far as your friends go, you'll never know, will you?"

Danny grew angrier this time and pulled on his bonds. Now that his mind had fully cleared, he willed his transformation back to his alter ego, and unsuccessfully yanked on the clamps again. He frowned when he failed, knowing that he must still be very weak. But then, he had an idea and immediately shot a glanced at each of his wrists. His Blazers were still there—and on!-—and he knew they would help him blast off his bonds even in his weakened state.

But just when he tried to activate his Blazers, Bertrand, who had noticed Danny's quick look and could guess what he had planned, quickly soared over to him. He deftly removed the weapons before Danny could do any more, smugly taunting the boy as he did, "Can't have you come up with any lame ideas, now can we?"

The young hybrid glared in anger at the shape-shifter. But he turned back to Spectra and with a definitely stronger voice, uttered, "I swear, Spectra, if you have hurt my friends…"

But again, she interrupted him, this time clucking a little as she casually replied, "You really are the stubborn-type, aren't you? But we'll see how long that lasts! And since you lost so much of your pheromones, that can't be too long! I hadn't really realized that they would be more powerfully delicious and powerfully debilitating to you at the same time until now."

She didn't see when Bertrand frowned at her last statement. He had told her that! Still, he kept silent as she continued.

She chuckled, "Kinda makes me see the vampire point-of-view in a whole different light. Marvelous!...So, Danny, now that we both know that, I don't think you're in any position to make threats, especially now that we got rid of those annoying wrist thingies. And I strongly suggest that it's best that you not worry about anything else at the moment when you have bigger worries…like…"

She paused and backed out of his face so that his line of vision was now clear enough to see around the tiny room. And then she continued with a sneer, "…like being worried about the well-being of your little girlfriend!"

Danny gasped when he saw Sam bound as he was against the wall right next to him. But, if he could call it fortunate, they were very near each other because the room was so small. But he frowned with concern when he saw her limp body and lowered head. And although he could not see her face because her hair was totally engulfing it, she was obviously unconscious.

Reflexively struggling against his bindings again, he angrily said through gritted teeth, "What did you…"

Spectra rolled her eyes as she flippantly interrupted him again, "And I thought that animal couple was dramatic! You and your girlfriend make them look so boring and milk-toast. Still, your comeback was a bit on the stale side." But her tone immediately turned hostile and threatening as she pointed to Sam and added, "And what I did to her already is _nothing _compared to what _I'll do_ to her if you don't cooperate!"

This time, Danny pulled on his bonds again and grunted in defiance. He then rolled his eyes in annoyance and answered, "Same lame old line there yourself, Spectra, especially when you smugly say it all now that you're so sure that you stacked the odds in your favor this time. Just what do you want?"

She smiled wickedly. "Why, haven't you figured that out yet, Danny? I thought by now you would have gotten a brighter bulb burning in that little skull of yours. Still, I can't say that I'm disappointed with you, since it's clear that you are not too bright of a creepy little freak!"

Danny squelched his gasp at her insult. That was almost exactly what Sam had said just before their break-up! And this just reaffirmed to him that Spectra had indeed overshadowed Sam back then just as the enchanted dove had said! And that would mean that everything else that Sarah told him was absolutely true. But he didn't let on that he knew all this.

Then another idea suddenly crossed his mind. Though he didn't want it to be any more true than he had once thought—and yet hoping his idea would work—-he bit the inside of his lower lip before saying, "Look, Spectra. I don't know why you brought Sam here. For your information, we're through, and she's no longer my girlfriend."

"Oh? She said that, too. But she also seemed awfully concerned about you earlier; and, besides, why did you then react with such hostility toward me when you first saw her, hmmm?"

Danny frowned, reflexively not believing what Spectra said about Sam. Sarah had also said that Sam wanted to be with him again when his girl was searching for him at his home. Still, since he hadn't seen or talked to Sam for what seemed forever, he did have a twinge of doubt. Did Sam suddenly change her mind about their relationship? He hoped not; and he wouldn't be satisfied until he heard it straight from her. Again, he didn't want to let on any of this to the 'jerkess' in front of him. So instead, he concentrated on sounding annoyed and said, "Well, I can see that you're _a lot_ on the slow side, too, or haven't you ever noticed that I get kinda upset when _any_ human is in danger? And even though I really don't care about Sam any more, in case you haven't noticed, she still is a human, and so no exception."

Spectra frowned in irritation at his reply. Did he mean that? Had he really gotten over their relationship that quickly? Well, possibly, since he was one of those unpredictable teens. Then, that would mean that he wouldn't have any more angst feelings about their break-up to harvest! But she had thought that their energy level in their relationship was practically off the scale when Bertrand measured it. Darn it! This was all Bertrand's fault, then! And now she had gotten these two here for no reason? But then, she stopped at her next thought. It didn't really matter if they had broken up or not. What he just said—about the fact that he would be worried about any human in danger—was enough.

She smiled at that last thought and cooed wickedly, "Then, we'll just have to see how this all plays out. But, in the meantime, it's time to prepare you for the show!"

"What do you mean…?" But he couldn't complete his thought. Instead, he yelled in pain as the shadow ghost's purple ray shot forward, hitting him brutally in his abdomen. He gasped in agony, struggling for air. The blow had literally knocked the breath out of him, and he felt as dizzy as he had been when he was first gaining consciousness.

The female Spectre laughed wickedly, darkly satisfied with the all the pain she had just inflicted on the bound boy. It reminded her of all the delight she had had while she was in the Spectre Realm doing that same thing to her enemy Ombre's offspring. Reeling with glee at the thought, she shot him once more for the mere pleasure of it.

The boy's next groan was in reality a weak wheeze; and because he still had not fully recovered from his initial attack in the Real World or her first blow just now, the young hybrid could no longer hold his spinning head up. His vision blurred into nothingness, and his head dropped to his chest.

"Why did you do that, Spectra?" Bertrand whined in irritation. "He's _still_ no good to us when he's unconscious!"

"True. But he's also no good to us if he's not in misery. And I know just how to get him to be. He should recover soon enough; and when he does, we'll be ready. Now, just float there, be quiet and wait for my next cue."

"Which is?" he dryly countered.

"Well, you'll see. You know how I love surprises."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief, before remarking, "Well, you'll certainly get an even bigger surprise if you get the kid to the height of his 'gloom and doom' and then can't do anything about it."

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning in concern.

He scowled back, "I mean, you used up all the vials and there are no more empty vials here!" He immediately glared at her as he growled, "And don't even _think_ about emptying out my precious potions in the lab to get some! Those brews are priceless!"

"To some ghosts, anyways," Spectra flippantly said, briefly rolling her eyes upward before looking back at her assistant. But when Bertrand glared even more with annoyance at her remark, she quickly apologized, "All right! All right! Don't get your pants up in a knot!"

Bertrand humphed indignantly and replied, "Whatever. In any case, I have a lot of empty vials at my place! And **remember** how I've already been there today? I went there to recuperate after I got the short end of the stick in our little fight with the kid and his friends. If you had just let me onto your clever plans earlier than this, I would have brought them along, including their pouches! Now, you'll just have to wait until I get back to 'put on your show'. He humphed in exasperation, wondering what in the Ghost Zone she had been thinking! Then, he suddenly rolled his eyes in irritation at his next thought. He now had an inkling of what her plans would be. He added, "And I'll have to bring some other things as well."

She crossly huffed, "Then, hurry up, will you?"

He returned her huff as he began to soar upward towards the exit. And when he reached the trap door, he pulled it open and exited. Now, in the main part of Spectra's lair, he grumbled something under his breath as he turned back to the door and shut it, and it all but disappeared from sight….

As he left her lair, he sighed, no longer angry with her. Getting those pheromones was more important…Besides, she was right. He would find out soon enough about her plans.

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"We are sorry that we led you here without a plan," Sarah apologized to the young human pair. "All we knew was that we just had to come back here and try to help. But, perhaps, there is still a way. We are also small enough—at least, _I'm_ small enough—so that we might be able to slip into the evil sorceress' lair undetected."

"No, Sarah!" Derek immediately objected, frowning in sudden worry for her safety.

"Please, Husband," she gently begged. "It is the most logical plan at this most desperate point. I can remain invisible the whole time and I can also blend into the smallest of shadowed corners. But we must know what is transpiring before we act. I promise not to do anymore than observe any discoveries. And then, I will return back here with haste when I have found anything of importance."

Derek still shook his head in disagreement with her.

But then, Tucker piped in, "I think that Sarah has a good point. I can make a portal within the lair, but it would be better if it was as small as possible so that it wouldn't be that noticeable. And it would be a good idea to start in that rarely-used room you told us about, Derek."

The two ghost animals and two humans fell in thought after Tucker's comment.

Then Valerie finally commented, "I agree with Tucker and Sarah. She is the best choice as far as sneaking into the joint."

This time, the two humans and the dove turned to look at the lynx.

Derek's eyes widened in slight fear for his wife, but then reluctantly sighed. He knew he was outvoted, especially since he couldn't come up with a better plan. He nodded his concession to the majority before insisting, "All right. But do we agree that Sarah is only to observe what is transpiring and _no_ more; and then come back to tell us all that she has witnessed—_in haste_?"

"Yes," the remaining trio affirmed in unison.

"I agree, then," Derek concurred. He then looked right at his wife and mustered a weak smile.

But she could tell that even though he was trying to convey his encouragement and consent with that smile, he was still very anxious about their decision.

She flitted right up to him when she saw that worry and touched her forehead gently to his. She then flew to his ear and whispered, "I promise to be wary of what I will encounter and remain as silent as I can…Just for you."

She gently and affectionately pecked at one of the whiskers on his muzzle right after she said that before flying right over to Tucker and flapping her wings in a hover in front of him.

"I am ready, Sir Tucker. Please tell me of what I should do," she bravely said.

He half-smiled at how she had addressed him and said, "Well, all you have to do is go into the portal I create and it'll do the rest. But, it's best if you turn invisible _before_ you enter it so that when you cross to the other side, you'll already be hidden. I also think it's best not to keep the portal open for long; so that you won't draw any more attention than what's necessary. So, once you get there, I'll cut off the power. But I will open one just like it at the same place in about, say, five minutes, OK? I know that you might not be able to tell how long that will be. And so, it would be best if you take a quick look around and then make an even quicker exit after that, OK?"

"I understand and thank you, kind Sir. I am ready at your command," she quietly said.

After his PDA scanned the lair, Tucker calculated the coordinates. And once satisfied that he had the correct ones, he pushed the commands on his PDA. A small, barely-formed portal suddenly materialized from a tiny beam from his PDA. It looked as if Sarah would barely fit into it.

Sarah glanced at her husband and gave him an encouraging smile. He, in turn, nodded to her just as she turned invisible and carefully and slowly flew into the portal. Her tiny body was immediately swallowed into it.

Derek was glad that she did not see his jaw tense and nervous swallow just when she did.

A moment later, Sarah found herself in a dark corner of that very same rarely-used room. As soon as her tail feathers slipped out of the portal, it disappeared. She maintained her invisibility and tried to fly as quietly as possible. But as she glided onward, she grew worried. The soft echo of her fluttering wings seemed like a whirlwind in the cold silence of this area of the lair.

She quickly floated downward to the ground and decided to hop. This time, she squelched her sigh of relief. She could not hear any sound from the light steps of her tiny feet. Satisfied that she was as quiet as she could be, she hopped more quickly, anxious to investigate the lair.

She scanned the area as she moved, growing more bewildered as she did. It was so dark in here. _Too_ dark. The last time that happened, her husband and she had been the _only_ ghosts in the lair.

She felt a sudden grip of fear within her bosom at the thought: Did Spectra take Sir Danny somewhere else? The dove decided that if she must see if this were so, she would have to hurry. She leapt upward, now turning intangible as well as maintaining her invisibility. Not hearing the flutter of her wings when she did, she gently and silently chided herself for not thinking to do that in the beginning. But then again, she rarely used the only two ghostly powers she had. Nevertheless, she just as quickly threw that thought away and soared from darkened room to darkened room, only to find the same thing in each of them: that they were totally devoid of light—or of any other being.

She finally came full circle back to her rendezvous point, upset that either they were somehow too early in coming here—or, worse, _too late_! She gasped in dread at the thought, feeling as if she had failed the boy again. But then, another thought kept her from becoming frantic with fear: maybe the sorceress had taken him to her servant's home! She calmed a little at that possibility, yet then startled a little when the tiny portal reappeared on schedule.

She didn't hesitate to dive right into it. Within the time it took for the next beat of Tucker and Valerie's hearts, Sarah returned to their hiding place behind the boulder on the green shelf nearby Spectra's lair.

As Sarah rematerialized in front of the portal, she did not notice the relief in her husband's eyes. Instead, she quickly looked to the teens and excitedly said, "The lair is empty! We must hasten to the lair of Spectra's servant!"

Tucker groaned at her words. "Bertrand has his own lair? We didn't know that! It never occurred to us to even imagine he did, since he's usually here at Spectra's lair. We've never stumbled upon it when we've worked on mapping the Ghost Zone; so, of course, I don't have a clue on where that is!"

"But I know he has a home. He has mentioned that when he was at Spectra's home and when we were their prisoners," Derek piped in.

They fell to silence again; but then, Valerie had an idea. "OK, let me try something else."

The other three companions waited anxiously while Valerie pushed on the command buttons of her radar gear. After a few minutes, she muttered, "Darn it! I don't get even a blip of a reading on Danny's signature."

Tucker smiled weakly at her and replied, "That was a nice try, Valerie, but I could have told you that it would be almost impossible to get a lock on his—or any other ghost's— signature in the Ghost Zone."

But she quickly retorted, "Are you kidding? I'm telling you he's not here!" But then, she cringed when she caught herself. She suddenly realized that she relapsed a bit to her old—and now unwanted—habit. She cringed again and sighed. Then, with more control in her voice and a slight frown of remorse on her face, she continued. "I mean, I know that it's hard to get a reading on just any ghost in here, Tucker, but when I was in here accidentally not too long ago, I was able to pick up on part of Danny's signature. After all, I _am_ used to looking for and finding it in the Real World; and, besides, it is _awfully unique_."

Tucker had winced at her first remark and with that last bit of information. But when he saw Valerie's apologetic smile in return, he managed to smile back, "You're right, of course, honey."

Valerie smiled weakly back.

But now, they were still at a loss. And, of course, they didn't know that they wouldn't have been able to track Danny's whereabouts at all even if they could recognize his unique blip in the Ghost Zone. And that's because the last bit of Bertrand's de-ghost-a-fier had entirely spilled on him earlier in the day and was still totally masking his energy signature.

"Hey, I got an idea!" Tucker said to Valerie. "Do you still have a record of Bertrand's energy signature?"

"Who's Bertrand?" the Red Huntress asked, not recalling that name.

"He's Spectra's assistant, the shape-shifter that gave you that nasty cut on your arm when he was a wolf," Tucker replied.

Her face scrunched up with determination this time as she replied, "Oh, yeah! Duh! Now I won't _ever_ forget it! But I do keep records of all the ghosts I fight and their signatures! Give me a sec."

She immediately pulled up that part of her instruments and searched for the signatures of the three last ghosts that she fought, which were, of course, Spectra and Bertrand—and Danny. She showed Tucker the results and he matched his records with hers, easily determining which of the three signatures was Bertrand's.

With a smug smile, he said, "OK, let's see how good this futuristic hunter's PDA really is!"

He pushed a button, and a small wire snaked out of it. The end of the wire interfaced his PDA into Valerie's radar system and started giving it commands. All of the sudden, his smile widened as the PDA began to display screen after screen of technical jargon as it tried to calculate his commands. Then, as if tuning in a radio, the PDA fine-tuned the energy signatures that were echoing in this area, eliminating each unwanted one, one-by-one, until all that was left was the pulse of Bertrand's signature. The little machine immediately beeped rapidly when it had completed its objective.

Tucker grinned in triumph. "Faint, but got 'im! They don't call Skulker, or I should say, Skultech, 'The Ghost Zone's _future_ Greatest Hunter' for nothin'!" But seeing the confused look on Valerie's face, he sheepishly added, "I'll explain that, too, when we get the time, OK?"

Valerie silently nodded.

Then pointing the way, Tucker excitedly added, "And Bertrand's that way!" He quickly locked in the coordinates displayed on his PDA and plotted the fastest course to the ghost's position.

Sarah and Derek, meanwhile, had floated next to the two young humans, amazed at their fortitude and ingenuity. The ghost animals wondered if magic existed throughout both worlds now. Still, they were encouraged when these two young people found a way to help after all.

Neither couple needed any more prompting, and they all headed toward that direction, this time with Valerie and Tucker leading the way.

But they could not know that shortly after they had located Bertrand's position, he had retrieved those several pouches full of empty vials and some other supplies from his home, and was headed back to Spectra's lair.


	51. Chapter 51 Race Against Disaster

**A/N: As if my week was hectic enough, then what happens? I couldn't update this past Friday! Something about a 'processing error'. I really don't know what that is, but all I'm glad about is that it's fixed. My apologies for the lateness, but it wasn't my fault! I thought I had been a good girl, but maybe I haven't been? I better think about that! But anyways, it's WAY about time to update. Hope you're ready, 'cause I sure am! And a very Happy Independence Day to Brazil this Monday, September 7th! I'm very happy for you! Anyway, here is Chapter 51. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 51—Race Against Disaster

Tucker and Valerie could feel their hearts racing as fast as the hover-board speeding them through the Ghost Zone. Derek and Sarah could also feel an apprehensive pressure within their bosoms as they maintained their pace next to the flying human couple. All of them frantically hurried to reach Bertrand's lair, focusing their efforts toward the coordinates still locked into Tucker's Ghost Zone Global Positioning System. Valerie had even turned off her ghost-tracker device so that they would not get distracted from their mission with scrambled up readings.

Along the way, they decided on the same plan as before—to send Sarah into it to scope it out. But, they halted just before they reached the lair. From what they could now see, though they were sure the coordinates were accurate and they were very near Bertrand's home, they really could go no further. And that was because that unlike Spectra's completely-showing lair, the entrance to Bertrand's lair was a lone door! And that would mean that they would have no choice but to enter it through that door!

Trying to decide on what to do next, Tucker and Valerie suddenly had the same idea. Tucker immediately hooked up his PDA to Valerie's ghost-detection instrument. He boosted its ability to scan for the desired signature. Once he was satisfied that Valerie's instrument might now be of a help, both he and his girl activated their devices. They scanned the lair, looking for an obscured area where Tucker might be able to create a portal, only to simultaneously gasp at their same discovery.

"There's no ghost in there!" they both blurted out at the same time. They both immediately rechecked their instruments, and unconsciously glanced up at each other moments after confirming their conclusions.

All the while, Sarah and Derek floated helplessly next to the two teens, silently watching them. They were, of course, uncertain of what the human couple was doing, but they were also hoping that the two teens _were certain_ of what they were doing.

"Bertrand's not in _there_?" Tucker asked incredulously again. "But he _was_ there!"

"My instruments also confirm that," Valerie added, glancing once more at her instruments. "The temperature is colder in spots, which would indicate that a ghost had been in there."

"Then, he must have somehow gone back to Spectra's lair!" Tucker announced, outwardly revealing his hunch. "Like Derek and Sarah said—and what we know—he spends a lot of time there. And darn it! We were so bent on getting here that he probably flew right past us on his way back. I bet he was invisible! And we wouldn't have been able to detect him out here unless we were constantly watching our instruments and not watching where we were going!" He groaned. Then chiding himself, he added, "I should have thought about monitoring the area!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Tucker," Valerie gently said. "We can't think of everything all the time. Besides, we know he was here and now he's gone. And that's a good guess on where he might be now. But why would he go back to Spectra's lair when nobody's there?"

"Maybe to meet up with her?" Tucker offered, but then he began to doubt that. "But she would have had plenty of time to get there with Danny by now. Where else would she be, then?" He gasped at his next wild thought, "Unless she took him somewhere neutral so that we couldn't track him!"

"Maybe, Tucker. But she's got to come back to her lair sometime, don't ya think?" Valerie suggested.

"She always did return to her abode, we can assure you," Derek added, remembering when she had surprised him and his wife those two particular times. And that memory triggered other thoughts, like all the evil the shadow ghost caused when she did return. If only he could stop any more evil from happening!

Once he thought that, another thought pressed upon him. He turned to his wife and began to whisper to her.

Satisfied that what Derek said could be a possibility, Tucker turned back to Valerie and continued, "OK, then, we can assume she will come back." He gulped at his next idea. "But she might come back without Danny!" And then he gulped again at the immediate thought after that. "And where's Sam? I think she should have been here somewhere by now!"

Derek and Sarah were still softly conferring with each other and hadn't heard what he had said.

But Valerie quietly replied, "Unless she got captured, too?"

Tucker instantly frowned with worry, as he recalled that mysterious phone call he had made to his female best friend. And his gut feeling still was that she had gone into the Ghost Zone. And that she _was_ in trouble…_big_ trouble.

But he didn't let his fears get in the way. Determined to do whatever he needed to do to help both of his best friends, he gritted his teeth and decided, "OK. Then we need to head back to Spectra's lair. But this time, let's monitor the area as we go in case they've set up their meet-up place in a totally different area."

While letting her eyes drift to the vastness of the Ghost Zone, Valerie objected with some exasperation, "But that's like trying to find a needle in a haystack!"

However, when she turned back to look at Tucker after saying that, she was startled by the grave look on his face. She had never seen him like that before! He looked so serious and so absolutely determined, it was as if nothing she would say would sway him. And indeed, it wouldn't.

Though it initially spooked her to see him like that; oddly, she could not help but feel a surge of strength coming from him that seemed to envelope her, too. She immediately lost her doubt at that precise moment. And then she said, "So, OK, then. Let's not waste any more time!"

Tucker's stone face melded right into a weak smile and he gently replied, "Thanks, Valerie. I needed that!"

She smiled back and he waited for her to prepare to activate the hover-board again. When they were ready, they turned to check on the ghost animals, only to find that _they weren't _there!

Both of the teens gasped with surprise and worry. Though really meaning to ask himself, Tucker blurted out loud, "Where did they go?"

Valerie checked her instruments and growled in frustration from all the interference. She didn't know where the two ghost animals went.

But before Tucker could check his PDA, they heard a very loud crash too close to them for comfort…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx

Just as Tucker and Valerie had supposed, Bertrand had gone back to his lair. And, as it turned out, he had indeed spent a lot less time there than he normally would have...

Once Bertrand had gone into his lair, he wasted no time and went back into his laboratory. He reflexively smiled as he entered it. This was truly where he felt most at home! He smiled again when he saw his row of neatly labeled glass containers delicately embracing his various valuable concoctions. Some of those potions had been easy to mix. Others were very difficult and took a lot of his time preparing. But all of them were as dear to him as if they had been his children. Before he knew it, he was dusting the area and straightening the various vials as a mother would when fussing over her brood. It was second nature to him. And, indeed, it really was.

But when he finally came upon the vials containing Danny's already extracted, glowing pheromones his smile broadened. He counted them again, mentally adding up the years of youth they would supply Spectra and him. It didn't matter to him what siphoning off even more of Danny's precious commodity would do to the Ghost Brat. So what if doing just that would do as much damage to the kid as having his blood taken from him? After all, Bertrand had long since noticed that the Ghost Boy's pheromones were extremely powerful, all because of his hybrid nature. And because they were powerful and because losing them affected the kid more than any other creature, his ghostly pheromones might as well have been blood—_ghostly_ blood, that is. But Bertrand didn't care about that. All he cared was that he couldn't wait to siphon off more of it from the kid.

He smirked in glee, "This quaint little stock may very well last us for decades! And now, all we need to do is keep the Ghost Brat just well enough to milk more of this energy from him in order to keep us well supplied for centuries…or more!"

Satisfied that their plan was working out perfectly, he grabbed a couple of nearby empty pouches. He then stuffed those pouches with more empty vials to take back to Spectra's lair. Right after, he glanced over to the other empty pouches, making a mental note to get hold of more vials in which to fill those as well. After all, he could not have too many of the vials, and he didn't want to be caught being unprepared again.

He finally turned to leave when he noticed the other substance that he had wanted and knew would be important much sooner than later. He grabbed that and then re-checking that he had the pouch full of empty vials again, took off toward Spectra's lair, eager to harvest his coveted supply of the Ghost Kid's pheromones...

But unbeknownst to Tucker and Valerie, the shape-shifter had taken a short cut only he and Spectra knew of, which would explain why he was able to get back to her lair without the human teens noticing him or his noticing them. And by the time the two teens and two ghost animals were about half-way into getting to Bertrand's lair, he had already returned to Spectra's home.

Once the shape shifter had finally arrived at Spectra's lair, he opened the front door and let himself in. He then pushed a camouflaged button located in a shadowed pocket near the entrance. Instantly, a hidden trapdoor to a secret small room just _below_ the main floor opened up. And that trapdoor had sprung from the floor and led to a small, secret basement that Sarah did not know about and therefore had not thought to look for when she had earlier searched Spectra's entire lair. He quickly _dove_ into and closed the trap door behind him.

It indeed was a very small room and was used as a mini-workshop for Bertrand to build a lot of his techno gear. There were tools of all kinds hanging on a pegboard securely hung on the wall. There were also some boxes stacked in the far corner that held all sorts of extra parts, piles of scrap metal, plastic and wiring that Bertrand insisted on keeping. After all, he had also insisted that they would never know when those would be needed. He even had empty boxes neatly stacked upon the other that were ready…just in case, again.

Nevertheless, in spite of Bertrand's being adamant about keeping lots of odd stuff, everything was spotless and neatly arranged and labeled. And right next the pile of boxes and right below the pegboard full of tools was a small work bench.

On the other side of the room was Spectra and Bertrand's makeshift prison for Danny and Sam. They had built-in some clamps into the two walls cattycornered from the workbench and had secured their captives there. And even though Danny and Sam were diagonal to the workbench, and they weren't that far from just about everything in the room, the room was not cramped. There was plenty of room in which to maneuver. And, of course, Bertrand wouldn't have it any other way since he needed and demanded a lot of elbow room whenever he was being creative.

As he finally reached the area just below the trap door, Bertrand sighed in irritation when he noticed that the indicating light of his Ghost Signature Scrambler device was not on. He was quick to activate it, growling, yet resigned, in his thoughts: it was just like Spectra to not pay attention to this important feature to this room.

But Bertrand need not have worried about that right now. Though the device would scramble the signature of _any_ ghost down here, it would only have to mask his and Spectra's auras right now. They wouldn't have needed it for Danny, since he still bore the residue of the signature-masking potion that had spilled on him during his fight with Bertrand earlier in the day.

But unbeknownst to Bertrand, Spectra's disregard to turn on the Scrambler had come of no consequence. As it was, Tucker and Valerie hadn't detected Spectra's signature earlier because Tucker wasn't trying to find any ghost and Valerie had only tried to home in on _Danny's _energy signature alone—and had ignored any other ghost artifact in the area, which had included Spectra's reading!

Bertrand floated downward and could see that the two teens were still unconscious. But Spectra was sitting in one of boxes in the corner and had been impatiently waiting for his return.

She quickly floated off the box and putting her hands on her hips, huffed, "Well, it's about time! If the Ghost Brat had woken, I would have had to use my powers on him instead of sucking more of his pheromones from him to knock him back out. And that would have been a waste of my time and energy! "

But Bertrand purposely ignored her remark as he firmly countered, "Penelope, I can't tell you enough how important it is to use the Ghost Signature Scrambler when you're down here! That's the only reason why no one has ever discovered us using it all this while."

But the shadow ghost quickly dismissed his reproach. She was too eager to get on with her plans. She just as quickly—and with too much casualness—- replied, "Did you get the vials?"

He grunted at her indifference, but tersely answered, "Yes, I did." He held up the pouch and remarked, "And it looks exactly like the pouch already full of the vials of the Ghost Kid's pheromones that it's currently in your lab. I don't want them to be confused with any other of my delicate potions, which is why I made sure that the pouches matched."

Spectra rolled her eyes. Just like Bertrand to be so up tight about that. Still, she, too, really didn't want to confuse all that deliciously potent stuff with any of the other glowing icky concoctions that Bertrand had made. Or accidentally get them mixed up. After all, there was no need to remind her just how priceless the Ghost Kid's pheromones were. But her thoughts were interrupted by Bertrand's next remark.

"And I also got this, since these two have to actually _be conscious_ for what you want to do!" he replied, holding up another small vial up for her to see. He had also gotten this from his lair; and it contained something they would need momentarily.

Again, she either ignored or didn't notice his irritation. She continued, "Good! Now, I want you to revive the girl first. Then wait at least a minute before reviving Danny. I want to be totally ready when he opens his eyes."

"OK, Penelope," he said, now having a strong hunch of her plans. "And shouldn't I make myself scarcer?"

"No, I need you to be ready with the machine. But stay as far back as you can. I already have an idea of what to say if the Ghost Brat's silly little ghost sense goes off."

Bertrand smirked at that and quickly placed the machine behind some nearby equipment. He then floated back out and readied the small vial he had also taken from his lair. It held a whitish solid that was surrounded by a whitish waft of vapor. Then, he waited for Penelope to give him the cue….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What was that?" Valerie and Tucker both said at once, reacting to the loud noise. An instant later, Valerie whipped out a weapon and Tucker pulled out his PDA. The Red Huntress activated her hover-board and she and her boyfriend—who was still in tandem-headed right toward the direction where they had heard the noise: Bertrand's lair!

Valerie willed three small triangular devices from her hand not holding the weapon. The small weapons each shot a pink beam which converged to one powerful pink beam. When the larger ray struck Bertrand's door, it immediately vaporized the entryway and the two teens soared into it.

Just as they entered the rather large lair, Valerie switched on a head beam and Tucker activated a flashlight beam on his PDA so that they could scan the area. Suddenly, they heard another loud crash. It was coming from one of the back rooms!

Cautiously, they flew that way and turned off their lights and stopped just as they neared the area emitting the loud noises. The two humans jumped off the hover-board and crept closer, keeping their weapons ready.

Finally, they reached the room and Valerie snaked her hand around the corner, fumbling for a light switch. She smiled when she found one and flipped it on.

As the light flooded the room, Tucker and Valerie stood stunned at the sight at first, not sure of what to make of it. Sarah and Derek were in the midst of destroying the laboratory! Sarah was shredding the potion book with her feet and beak and Derek was knocking over vials by the dozens. He was about to destroy a set of glowing vials when he and his wife were surprised by Tucker and Valerie and momentarily halted in their task when the light came on.

Tucker was the first to recover and he blurted out, "What are you doing?"

But when the couple saw who had turned on the light, they resumed their work. Derek was just about to knock over a set of the glowing vials, when Tucker spied their labels and cried, "Wait, Derek!"

The lynx obeyed his command and turned his attention in confusion to the boy.

"Let me look at those vials!" the teen insisted as he weaved through the debris of the now mostly-destroyed lab and toward the ghost animals.

Valerie followed closely behind him as they made their way to the rows of vials that Tucker had spotted. There were nearly a dozen of them. The two humans choked a little on the fumes that were still eking from the small puddles of spilled potions that lay amidst their now shattered vials. But Derek and Sarah were not affected at all by the fumes of these particular potions because of their enchantment.

Finally, Tucker reached the lynx and the vials he almost destroyed and picked one up to examine it. "Why is Danny's name on these?" he mused.

"Those must be the magic that Spectra desired to take from Sir Danny!" Sarah said with dread. "That evil sorceress had said that she wanted something precious that only he could give her. Now I remember part of what she said! Something she called pharoah's moons."

"Pharoah's moons?" Tucker repeated in bewilderment. He searched his head for what that could possibly mean. He mumbled to himself, "Pharoah's-moons….phara moons…pharo-mones…pheromones…that's it! Did you mean pheromones?"

"Yes, that is the word!" Sarah excitedly replied. "And Spectra said that he would be very weakened when they took those from him, and would hurt him…" She swallowed hard and added, "…maybe, mortally!"

Tucker's eyes widened in dread. Still he had to remain focused in order to help his friend. He nodded in acknowledgement, as he now confirmed something in his head. "Well, that might explain why he was having such a hard time fighting Spectra and Bertrand a few hours ago! Pheromones are more physical attributes than emotion! It _could_ be possible that if they got Danny's pheromones, then he would be physically weaker!" He then grabbed one of the glowing vials with determination and said with a slight smirk, "So, let's get these back to their rightful owner, shall we? I mean, assuming my theory is right Danny's gonna need them back."

Valerie reached for the empty pouch she had noticed that was near the vials. Together with Tucker, she carefully placed the vials of glowing and deep plum substance safely within it. She opened a compartment in her suit at her waist and carefully secured the pouch within it.

In the meantime, the ghost animals silently watched the teens as they completed their task. They were about to resume finishing their own task when Valerie noticed another vial. "Hey, what's this?" she muttered as she reached for it.

She showed it to Tucker and he smiled. "That may come in handy later. Let's bring it along, too!"

Valerie nodded. She quickly grabbed that vial as well and placed it into another smaller empty pouch. She then opened the same compartment in her suit that contained the glowing substance, and placed that pouch within it. Once she was through, she looked at her companions.

The ghost animals took that as their cue. They didn't wait any longer for the teens and turned back to their task. Now it was Tucker and Valerie's turn to silently watch on as the two animals quickly finish destroying what little was left of Bertrand's lab.

After they were through, Sarah finally remarked, "Please do not think ill of us for what we have done. We felt we had the time, since we were all at a loss on what to do at the moment. We could not be satisfied knowing that this evil place was still existing. We are now content to know that the merciless sorceress and her wicked assistant can no longer make their vile concoctions at this horrid place! And, now, once we find our friends, we feel we will not rest unless we do the same to Spectra's laboratory as we have done here."

"She has a lab, too?" Tucker asked, totally surprised by the news.

This time Derek answered him, "Yes, she does, but it is not as big as this one. We will not need as much time to destroy that one."

"Hold on, there," Tucker said with a frown. "Not that I don't think you actually did a pretty good thing in tearing up this place, but we can't just show up at Spectra's and do the same thing. If Bertrand's there, who says that Spectra won't be, either? That'll complicate things."

"True, but we will do it as soon as we are sure that everything is calm and the ghosts are gone," Derek replied.

"But how can you be sure that they will be gone?" Tucker countered.

"You said so yourself, Sir Tucker, that they may have gone to a totally different place," Sarah added. "That way, if we find they are not there, we can destroy that evil sorceress' laboratory."

"I don't know," Tucker began, purposely ignoring the honorific she was still using for him. "I don't think we should waste our time with that. We need to find Danny…" He paused a moment, bewildered at his next thought. But then, he suddenly knew that this time he was _right _with that hunch and continued, "…and, uh, Sam."

"We did not forget about that, Sir Tucker," Sarah gently said. She then paused. He was right, of course.

Derek saw his wife's reaction and then said, "We agree with you, Sir. But if we find out that they are not there after all, we might have the time if it presents itself to us. If not, we also desire to do whatever you say to try to find your friends."

"I'm with them on this one," Valerie finally piped in, turning toward the group. She had been examining the various equipment and destroyed vials in the laboratory while Tucker had been speaking with the ghost couple.

Tucker looked to her as she pointed to the destroyed items on the floor and continued, "If in the end Spectra and Bertrand don't have all this stuff, they won't be able to give us any trouble for a long time."

"OK, this time, I might be outvoted," Tucker admitted. "But we have to make sure that no one is at Spectra's lair and we have to make sure we find Danny and Sam before we destroy her lab. If she finds out that we totally trashed it before we find them, she might do more harm to them."

Valerie suddenly scrunched her face, wondering why Tucker had now included Sam in all of this. But, she kept quiet. Maybe he had agreed with her hunch that Sam might have been captured as well.

"We didn't think of that!" Sarah gasped. "Then, we must find our friends first!"

This time, Valerie and the two ghost animals nodded in agreement with Tucker.

Tucker smiled weakly and insisted, "OK, let's get going, then. We can discuss our plans on the way!"

And with that, they all knew they needed no more discussion. Without further ado, the two couples made quick tracks back to Spectra's lair.


	52. Chapter 52 Ultimate Test

**A/N: Happy Friday, everyone and THIS time FF let me load! (Be thankful for small successes!). Anyhow this chapter **_**definitely**_** ties with another chappie as my ultimate personal fav chappie. But it is VERY intense, so be ready. I need to warn ya, but all of it has a purpose, of course. And, uhm, it is also VERY long, so hope you don't mind that, either! In either case, here is Chapter 52. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 52—Ultimate Test

"OK, Bertrand, I'm ready," Spectra said with glee. "And, remember, wait a few seconds before reviving the boy."

Bertrand nodded as he uncorked the vial of whitish ammonia-like substance that he had brought from his lab along with all those empty vials. He placed it under Sam's nose. The human girl immediately reacted, recoiling from it while coughing on its vapors. Spectra took that as her cue. The shadow ghost quickly entered Sam and overshadowed her. Spectra, of course, didn't think about the fact that she could do that easier this time than she had in the recent past. If Sam had not been so weakened by the shadow's ghost's latest attack on her, or hadn't been driven further into a stupor by Spectra's overshadowing right now, Spectra would have failed. But as it were, Spectra entered the girl as easily as she had any other human.

Bertrand watched as Sam's eyes popped opened. They were a solid red at first, but they quickly melded back to their amethyst shade right afterward. Once he saw Sam's evil grin, he floated over to the unconscious Danny, who was still in his ghost form.

He also placed the same vial under the boy's nose and smiled when he got an immediate and similar reaction as well. Satisfied that the boy would recover, the shape shifter quickly darted over to a dark corner behind some boxes. He turned on the machine and waited.

Still coughing from the vapors from the small vial, Danny slowly opened his eyes, wondering what that foul smell was and why he couldn't get his hand to his mouth. One pull on his hand was all he needed for him to remember that he was still Spectra's prisoner.

Just as he lifted his head, he felt a slight chill rush through him just as he heard Sam's voice. And she _definitely_ sounded _very_ angry.

"So, _now_ what kind of trouble have you gotten me into this time? Wasn't it bad enough that you broke up with me? I don't want to be sucked into anymore of your silly little ghost problems! Why couldn't you just leave me out of this?"

Even though his first response was to cringe at her barrage, he was still more relieved to see that she was all right than be upset that she was angry. Though his head was still swimming, he hurriedly replied, "Sam! I'm glad you're all right! But calm down, will ya? We don't know where those two idiot ghosts are...

She was quick to interrupt him, "But I know! Spectra and Bertrand said they had a quick errand to run in the Real World. I heard them talking about it when they thought I was unconscious!"

He then replied, "Oh, OK, then. But we still have to get out of here! And I can explain everything. So, can you please just chill a minute while I try to break free?"

Turning her nose up, she whined, "And why should I calm down? I don't ever want to see you anymore, much less be in the same room with you. You don't deserve having anyone get close to you! All you do when you trick them into getting close is betray them! And I should know! You didn't trust me or believe me when you should have. Fine! I may have been a fool once, but not anymore!"

Still struggling with his bonds, Danny grunted, "But it's not your fault, Sam! You didn't know and _**I **_didn't know at the time that Spectra overshadowed you all that time! Sarah told me!"

Spectra-within-Sam gasped. He knew! And that little ghost told him! How did _that _happen? But it didn't matter! Just wait until she could get her hands on that puny bird's throat! But, this did change things. She would have to take a different track…She growled her answer, "Now who's the one lying? And what's that silly little ghost bird have to do with it? That still doesn't change things! We can't understand each other _ever_ again! So, breaking up is the only option. I was going to roll with that. And then _this_ happened! It just had to get worse, didn't it? If I had to be trapped—no thanks to you—I certainly didn't want to be trapped in the same room with you! "

Even as he once more struggled against his bonds without success, Danny didn't miss a single word she had said. He grunted, "I can't break free! I still feel so drained! And I'm so sorry about everything, Sam! But you're just angry. You have a right to be, but I can explain everything and help you understand if you just let me!"

But, then, he stopped cold. **Hold on**. The boy's mind quickly backtracked to Sam's last response. She had answered him like she knew who 'Sarah' was. But how was that possible? Sam hadn't seen the dove for days and Danny had been the first—and only—one of the two of them to learn what the ghost bird's name was!

And furthermore, since when did Sam get angry at innocent animals? That was not like her… And how the heck did she know about Sarah? Wait. How did she know the bird was a _ghost_? Yes, Sam was smart; but it still did not make any sense! And there was no way she could have guessed it, either.

Another thought then suddenly struck Danny. But he quickly put it on hold. He had to know the answer to his current question.

He finally said, "I don't get it, Sam! How did you know all that about Sarah?"

Spectra silently tensed at the question. She, of course knew the ghost animal couple's names…But then, she quickly probed her host's mind and knew what to say. She growled back, "Duh! Her husband, Derek, was with me, remember? _He _told me!"

"Oh, yeah," Danny said, biting the inside of his lower lip. He must have been reading too much into her reactions. And now, he was becoming more worried on how very upset she was. Pulling on his bonds again and with his voice heavy with the effort, he finally said, "But try to calm down, will ya, Sam? I'll explain everything once we get out of here, OK?"

Spectra silently grinned in triumph within Sam. She thought she only had a very small window to carry out this quick plan. Still, she was pleased. The half-ghost _was bluffing_ earlier about his break-up with the human! He still cared for her. Then another thought struck her. But why _didn't_ he know that she was here inside his little girlfriend? His silly little 'ghost sense' should have alerted him! She didn't have any ghost-masking stuff on her, so why hadn't he known?

She couldn't know that answer, however. But in fact, it had alerted him, when he got that little chill right before the overshadowed Sam spoke to him the first time. But he didn't know that! And the reason for that was that his ghost sense had been severely dampened now, not only because his ghostly aura had been extinguished by the de-ghost-a-fying potion, but also because he was still very weakened by everything that had happened to him so far.

Spectra-as-Sam tossed that worry away for the moment, pleased that she had gotten this far in her plan. This would be perfect, then. She was about to throw more destructive barbs at him when, suddenly, she felt an intense and unexplainable pain riveting her mind.

"_What was that?"_ the shadow ghost moaned mentally to herself, trying to concentrate more. Then, a moment later, she felt a little better and replied with Sam's irked voice, "No amount of explaining will help. You will never understand me, you jerk! How could you ever understand anything? And I'll never forgive you for all that stuff you've done to me, especially for shafting me!"

This time, Danny felt a tight pull on his heart. He had never seen her _this_ angry at him—ever! Then he jolted when he grasped that thought. That was it! He just knew that this didn't _feel _right. This was like before, when she had told him they were through! This couldn't be right, then!

He looked around with his hunch, but he could not sense any ghost. He focused back to Sam. She was still so angry. But this wasn't like her. She would spell it all out before getting this upset! He knew her and she knew him. He couldn't explain it, but he wasn't going to question—or doubt— it anymore.

Then he was suddenly shaken by his next thought when he couldn't figure out why she was behaving like this. It was the same one that he had immediately after wondering how Sam had known the dove's name. That was it! Why did she say that he had broken up with her? He never said it! And, she was the one now acting as if he was to blame for everything that had happened to them the last time they saw each other. But _she_ had been the one who had wanted to break up with _him—_that is, when she had been _overshadowed_ by Spectra!

So, what did that mean? Then another wild thought surfaced. Was she being overshadowed again, and Spectra had some of that masking stuff on? He had to find out. And he knew just how to make sure he would get through to her.

He finally said, "Sam…I can see that you're way overheated about this. I understand that and I'm not angry with you. But we have to stick together if we want to get out of here. So, could we please talk about it..._our_ way, OK?"

Spectra, of course, had no idea what he meant by that. And she quickly found herself cornered. Whatever she said next was either going break this little freak or break her plans!

Quickly thinking up a new strategy, she finally replied, though her harsh voice had now turned into an almost sad whisper. "_Our_ way? You care about that now, Danny? Now, after all the times I asked you to trust me, after I asked you that same thing and you refused?"

Danny cringed at her comment, and his doubt about Sam's wanting to break up with him resurfaced. Maybe this was for _real_! Maybe Sam wanted them to be through. And then, he was at a loss on what to say next.

But just then, the shadow-ghost-as-Sam suddenly felt that same painful pressure attack her mind. She tried to resist it; but then, just as sudden, she was aware of another…_presence_…in her mind. And the shadow ghost was sure that she heard a mental groan—_Sam's_ mental groan. But, again, it was all in her mind.

"_What __**is**__ this?"_ Spectra silently muttered to herself, this time in disbelief. "_Is the girl __**stirring**__? How?"_

Once more, the female ghost heard another mental moan, followed immediately by a groggy _'W-What?'_ But it wasn't the shadow ghost's mental voice who had uttered that…it was **Sam's**! And the human girl was finally—inexplicably—coming fully out of the stupor into which Spectra had first put her just after she was initially revived by Bertrand and then overshadowed by the female shadow ghost right afterward.

Confused at first, Spectra mentally frowned at this development; but then, she finally recalled all those strange things that had happened to her the last couple of times she was within this girl. She had wanted to find out how Sam was able to throw her out of her body the last time. And now that Spectra had the weakened girl within her power, that should be easy enough to do. But she had to keep Danny off balance to give her that little time she would need.

"Sam, come on, don't ignore me," Danny suddenly said, pulling Spectra out of her thoughts. She focused back on him, and realized he had been trying to get her—or rather, Sam's—attention.

"Look, a lot has happened," the boy continued, "And I know I should have trusted you more. But, please, let's just figure out how to get out of here first, and then we'll work things out. We always have."

"No thanks to you!" Spectra-as-Sam finally uttered, still feigning betrayal in her victim's voice. "All this time, I have given you my all when you've give nothing! You were even incapable of giving me at least the benefit of the doubt! So just save your breath, Danny! No matter what you say, it doesn't matter! It's over between us! So, I hope you're happy, because, in the end, that's exactly what **you** wanted!"

"That's not true!" Danny yelled back, so upset with his girlfriend's words that he briefly forgot everything around them. The sound of betrayal in Sam's voice was a sure as her words. Now, he was sure, she really _did_ want to break up with him! He felt his heart burn with dread at that thought.

Spectra almost laughed right there when she saw worry cover the boy's face, but she continued with her act; but this time, instead of adding just hurt into her voice, she added anger again, anger that bordered on hate. "Look, I don't want to talk about any of this anymore! I just want to get out of here and as far away from you as I can! I'm done with you thinking that you can make everything alright with your shallow words! I see now that you do that to manipulate me! Because you think you _own_ me! Well, listen to this, mister: you don't own me—ever! So, you can just shut it unless you can eke out of your jerky head _how_ to get me out of here!"

Danny just stared at her with wide, troubled eyes. How could she even think that? He had **never** seen her as an object or some possession! When had he ever given her a reason to believe that? No, this wasn't right!

Suddenly feeling angry and hurt himself, his voice lowered into a serious tone as he replied, "That's not fair, Sam. You know I have never thought of you like that!"

"Oh, haven't you?" the overshadowed Sam replied coldly. And quickly searching her victim's mind, Spectra added, "Then, why is it that I was the one who had to go out of my way to get you to notice me? Why is it always me who has to change my personality for you? You've always taken me for granted, so you've always made me feel like one of your things."

"What?" he asked, now torn with confusion and outrage. "Change? I've never told you to change anything. And what do you mean I never noticed you and took you for granted? Wait. Do you mean before we started going out? Sam, come on, I thought you forgave me for that! Besides, I already admitted I was a total jerk and—"

"Yeah, well, maybe I did forgive you! But not anymore! Not after this! And, yeah, Danny, you _are_ a total jerk!"

The teen was floored with her remarks. He knew Sam could say some mean things when she was angry. But, bringing up the past? Since when was she the grudge-holding type? No, something wasn't right here! When they were just friends, they were always there for each other! And even if they were angry, they would push that aside to focus on what was important! But now…

Was she _that_ hurt by him?

Danny suddenly felt shame grip at his heart. He never meant to hurt her like this. But, Sam was right. He should have never distrusted her! He should have known that she wasn't that kind of girl. That all that had happened in that blasted 'Armen' thing was not her doing. But he didn't. He let his emotions and his own feelings of betrayal deny what he knew in his heart to be true: Sam had been innocent the whole time. She would never sink so low as to cheat on him. She was a good person, but also a good friend, and loyal girlfriend.

Then he suddenly remembered what he had inadvertently blurted out to Sarah when he had been so upset a few days ago. And that was the thought that he no longer wanted to do anything right any more if he had to give up his girl. But the thing was, Sam had _always_ helped him see all what was the right thing to do whenever he was unsure. She had always seen through all of that confusing stuff. Even when he was off track, focused only on himself, she never gave up on that, and that was because she, like him, wanted more than just _want_ to do what was right. They wanted to _make sure_ they did the right thing. And underneath, both of their energies were always focused on that.

But now, she sounded like she was giving up. And it was all his fault! And, yet, something pang on Danny's heart. He still felt that something was not right about Sam. He wanted to believe so much that maybe she was being forced to act like this. But the hurt in her voice just sounded so real. And her words were so intense that Danny could understand why she would say all that. And in a way, he suddenly felt like he deserved every bit of it… And, maybe…. Maybe he did **not** deserve her at all. Maybe breaking up was the best thing he could do for her…

Danny suddenly felt like just giving up himself. The thought of losing Sam filled him with hopelessness. But that only emptied his mind enough for another thought to seep back in. They were still in danger. He had to get them out of here! But he wasn't strong enough to break free, and _hadn't_ thought of any way to get them out of this—yet. He didn't want to answer her back right away until he could think of some way to get out of this mess.

As he searched his mind for a plan, he frowned when another unwanted thought surfaced. _She_ hadn't thought of anyway to get out of this mess, either! And if she was going to be this unreasonably, maybe all he wanted right now, then, was to get away from her as well. But then, that same, nagging feeling erased those last thoughts. This didn't _feel _right! It was all wrong! But then again, he also had no right to be angry with her! He wanted to work this out so badly! But she didn't want him to use their way to get through this, and she was still so angry and hurt. He bit his lip, trying to calm himself and come up with some kind of plan….

Satisfied that she seemed to have nipped the conversation in the bud for the moment between the Ghost Kid and the overshadowed Sam, Spectra turned her thoughts back to the matter at hand: just _how_ did this girl manage to have _any_ power over her? She needed to know…now!

She concentrated and, finally, her mind touched Sam's. She confidently hissed to the human, _"So, you're finally awake, little girl? Interesting little trick, there. Being able to be aware __**at all**__ that I'm here, that is. I need an explanation of that, which, I'm sure, you'd be more than happy to share with me!"_

"_W-what….w-who?" _Sam moaned again, still feeling her mind numb from the effects of Spectra's last assault on her in the Ghost Zone and the overshadowing. She was uncertain if this were real or if she was dreaming. She tried to clear her mind, but when she did, she met a painful resistance.

Then Sam jolted a little. _That resistance_, it was...was...And then she knew! She could actually feel a ghost—a shadow ghost! —trying to increase her hold on her mind. She mentally gasped. Was it Jiva? But that then just made Sam angry—and more determined.

The girl mentally pushed back harder against the ghostly force, but this kind of resistance felt…different. It _wasn't_ Jiva! She just somehow knew that! But if it wasn't Jiva, then _who?_...She jolted at her next thought. This time she concentrated more at resisting, trying to rid herself of whom she was now certain was…Spectra!...overshadowing her. But she found it very hard to do.

"_Get out of me!"_ Sam defiantly demanded, her mind now almost fully cleared.

"_That's not in my plans right now, little girl,"_ Spectra hissed back. "_Though I must say I'm quite impressed about your puny little new 'talent' there! And just how is it that you now have this ability to resist me?" _

She tried to probe the girl's mind right after she said that, but was surprised that this time she met a solid mental block. Not certain of what that could possibly mean, Spectra nevertheless kept cool and flippantly said, "_Not that I'm __**really**__ all that impressed. It's just a mere nuisance, but it certainly won't interfere with my plans to use you to completely break your little boyfriend over there!"_

Even though Sam couldn't see Danny right now, she had the certain feeling that he was very near…She mentally gasped. Was he hurt? Her memory came into sharp focus at that thought. They were still prisoners! She gritted her mental teeth and growled, _"Leave him alone!"_

Sam heard Spectra's mental laugh before the ghost answered her, _"Looks like I've been having to deal with all sorts of uppity girls lately! Oh, well, a therapist's job is never done, is it? Still, it doesn't matter. But what __**does**__ matter is that I can tell that you both __**still**__ care for each other. Too bad, but too __**good**__. Because, now it's time for me to get complete control over your little beau so that he won't be able to keep me from bleeding all of his powerful pheromones out of him. And I'm going to use you to do that!"_

Sam concentrated just as she heard that. She had to prevent the shadow ghost from hearing her next thoughts. Feeling a sharp pain after she had exerted her will to block the shadow ghost, Sam hoped she had accomplished what she wanted.

She then pondered to herself, _"Pheromones? What do phero….That's why she wanted to break us up! That's must be what makes up the kind of misery she wants! That's got to be it! I just know it!" _

Now that she was somehow certain that this was true, she had to think of a bluff to throw Spectra off. Her quick mind came up with her own plan. She then willed the mental block away and listened. Nothing! Spectra _hadn't_ heard her thoughts after all! Relieved, but still determined to carry out her plan, she tersely and defiantly said, _"You're definitely the lamest therapist I've ever seen. And I really don't care about what you're talking about… But make no mistake. I'm not going to let that happen if I can help it!"_

Again, Sam heard Spectra's mental laugh. But this time it was a menacing one. _"And just who do you think you __**are**__, little girl? You __**won't**__ be able to help it! Your silly little boyfriend is already too weak to break free and it'll be any time now that he'll be completely helpless. And just what are you but a mere, insignificant human? You've __**always**__ been totally powerless to even have dreamt of helping him!"_

Sam mentally grasped, but then gritted her mental teeth. She didn't care how Spectra had found out about one of her insecurities. She wasn't about to let the wicked ghost use it against her.

"_I am so tired of you invading my personal space, witch!_" Sam defiantly and mentally yelled.

Then the shadow ghost sarcastically growled, _"Ha-ha, brave words. But enough of this! I still don't know why you're even able to argue about this with me and I won't have any more of it! But it doesn't matter anymore, either! It's time to snuff you out and get on with my final plans. And, while I'm easily doing that, I'll dissect your silly little lame mind and get to the bottom of why you resisted my overshadowing you!"_

But before Spectra could concentrate and try to exert more power over Sam, both of the females heard Danny's call, "Sam?"

He had finally calmed down and had decided that Sam was so spazzed out about all the craziness that had happened so far and about being here. Of course, he really hadn't had a chance to talk to her about his misunderstanding everything that had happened because of Spectra. She was probably just blowing off steam—lots of it, of course. That's what he hoped, at least. It didn't matter at this point if he didn't understand just how angry she was. He wanted to get through this. He _had_ to… Plus, he really had to tell her everything that Sarah had told him so that she would understand and calm down. After all, they still had to stick together in order to get out of this.

But the overshadowed Sam didn't answer him and he grew nervous. He struggled with his bonds and they still refused to budge. He then called to his girlfriend once more, now getting more anxious. "Sam? Why don't you answer me? I need to talk to you!" Suddenly, he felt weak again and groaned with the sudden vertigo—and out-of-the-blue pain. But just as quickly, the pain disappeared.

But what he didn't know was that Bertrand, who was still hidden, had been monitoring him with his machine. And when the shape-shifter noticed an earlier spike and then this recent one in his readings, he couldn't resist his hunger and activated the machine. And, of course, it leeched out more of Danny's pheromones into the waiting famished vial. But then a moment later, the shape-shifter thought better of it and turned the machine off. After all, he didn't want to break Spectra's concentration—or blow her plans just yet. There was still _plenty_ of time—and he could still use the machine to monitor the kid.

Still determined to get through to his girl, and ignoring his sudden blurry vision, Danny added, "Sam, I know about everything! And I want you to totally understand me. But we don't have much time. We don't know when Spectra and Bertrand will be coming back. So, for both our sakes, we have to stick together about this for now, OK, Sam?"

But when his girlfriend once again did not reply to him, he got even more desperate. "Sam, please! I need your help! I can't break these bonds! And I can't think of a way out of this on my own! If you are so upset with me that you don't want to speak to me, then, can we just please talk this over _our_ way?"

"_What does he mean by that?"_ Spectra mentally demanded, speaking to Sam.

But even though the girl was able to hear what Danny said this time and knew what Spectra was asking, she wasn't about to answer the shadow ghost. Now that Sam felt totally recovered, she was concentrating. She knew she had been able to get Spectra out of her before. She wasn't sure how, but she had to do it again. She concentrated even harder. And as she did, neither she nor Spectra were aware of something happening to Sam's body.

Danny clenched his eyes shut in his anxiety just as a deep reddish-purple aura began to envelope his girlfriend's body. He was unaware of her internal struggle, especially now that he was suddenly caught up in his own. Sam really wanted nothing to do with him. She wasn't even insulting him anymore!

Danny then opened his eyes but kept his gaze downward, overwhelmed by his emotions. He could feel his eyes growing watery, which only made his blurry vision even worse. "Sam, please, I'm so sorry…," he whispered at her, unaware that the pain in his voice gave his girlfriend more strength to fight against Spectra's hold. And that only made the glow around her body intensify—something Danny still did not see because he had not looked to her for her answer to his plea yet.

The ghost boy was just about to give up, when he felt a sense of determination swell inside him. No! He refused to let this be the end of them! He refused to let some sick trick by Spectra destroy everything they had built all these years. The boy suddenly closed his eyes shut and concentrated. He was done asking her for permission. He was going to get through to her _their way_, even if it was just long enough for them to figure a way out of here!

But just as he attempted to barge into his girlfriend's mind, he mentally slammed right into a cold barrier. Why was she completely blocking him? Still determined, he quickly tried to get past it to reach Sam's mind; only to be _thrust away_ from her thoughts this time!

He gasped in chagrined at her reaction; and then thinking once more about how angry she had been since he woke, a very unsettling thought hit squarely his muddled mind: he had done what she had at least hinted at was one of her fears. She had finally let her guard down all this time and had opened herself to hurt. And he had _hurt _her from everything that had happened. But it was worse. He had not only hurt her, he hadn't believed in her when he should have, and had, in effect, rejected her. That would explain her hostility now, and why she threw him out of her mind.

Maybe _she_ had _definitely_ decided that this was the end of their relationship! He sighed and his shoulders deflated in defeat. He felt crushed with misery once again—and felt weaker because of it. Obviously his girl felt that what he done was unforgivable in her mind. But how could that be? She had been the one who had blown him off. Or had she? Now he wasn't certain. She had been overshadowed during the 'Armen' thing, but maybe when she finally realized it all, and saw how he reacted—how unfairly he had treated her—that was too much for her. After all, she had been making it clear all throughout their arguing just now that she didn't want anything more to do with him…

He was sorry about the way he had treated her and he could totally understand her hurt, but not her unforgiving rage over it. That was not the Sam _he_ knew…She didn't hold grudges… He jolted at the thought. And he suddenly felt a little hope. That was right! It _wasn't _the Sam he knew—and _she _should know him better than that! She should know that he would finally come to his senses, that they both were always so willing to work things out, like Sarah had said…because…because they loved each other!

But he had misunderstood his girlfriend's intention just now, which was, of course, to get Spectra out of her. And in her determination to do just that, Sam had inadvertently thrown _Danny _out, too.

But in the next instant, the young hybrid was surprised when another unexpected wave of pain gripped him. Once more, Bertrand had been quick to take advantage of the spike in the level of misery he had detected the moment the boy seemed to be crushed with it, and had activated the machine.

Danny groaned under the pain and his head began to spin again. And he was so dizzy he could barely hear the loud—and defiant—grunt that was coming from his girlfriend a few moments later. But he struggled to look at her nevertheless and gasped when he finally saw that her body was glowing! Wait. That wasn't right! Either he was so out of it that he was now imagining things or there was something _very_ wrong with Sam! But before he could even try to get his muddled mind to figure this out, he jolted when he saw a black entity suddenly thrown outward from Sam.

His blurry vision tracked the black thing as it slammed so hard into the wall that the wall buckled from the blow. And when the black entity finally slid down the wall, momentarily stunned, Danny gasped when he recognized who it was: Spectra! So, she had been overshadowing Sam this whole time? But how was that possibly when his ghost sense had not once alerted him that she was here?

But then he knew! The shadow ghost must have had some of that masking concoction on her that Sarah had told him about! That's why he hadn't known that Sam was being overshadowed during this entire time, too! But then, he frowned in confusion when he saw Spectra's aura…she hadn't had any masking formula on her. So, then, what was going on?

But, of course, Danny was not aware that the real reason he had not—and still could not—sense Spectra was because **he** was the one with the masking formula on him. He still did not realize it had been accidentally sprayed all over him. And that not only did it conceal his ghostly aura, but it also had affected his ghost sense.

Still, Danny quickly dismissed his confusion. That didn't matter right now. Even though he was already weakened and still was very dizzy, he was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt about doubting Sam again. But he wasn't going to do that to his love again.

Even as he was trying to think more clearly, Danny wasn't ready for what happened next.

Once Bertrand had seen Spectra crumpled on the floor, he had leapt from his hiding place and aimed the machine point blank at Danny. But Danny hadn't seen him when he did. Because, a moment later, the boy scrunched his eyes closed and yelled with the pain as the little machine began to siphon his pheromones from him. His body twisted in agony at the assault.

Now that Spectra was out of her, Sam was fully awake and alert. She could feel her breathing and heart rate increase in dread as she now saw how much pain her boyfriend was in. She instinctively lunged forward, only to find that she was bound as securely as Danny. She quickly looked at Bertrand and saw the little machine rattling within his hands as the vial within it filled and glowed with a blackish-purple substance. The human girl now understood what Spectra meant by breaking her boyfriend! And, somehow, that little machine was the key!

Just a few moments later, a small bell dinged and Bertrand put the machine down and rushed over to Spectra.

Danny was left panting hard, still in intense pain. He felt his head was too heavy to hold up and as he let it drop to his chest, he couldn't prevent the rest of his body from going limp as well.

Sam gasped when she saw that and instantly called to him.

But he was still in so much pain and his head was spinning so wildly, he had not heard her.

Desperate, this time she sent a firm telepathetic message to him. _"Danny, it's me! Sam!"_

"_Sam?"_ he was barely able to mutter back mentally. But thinking he had imagined hearing her voice, he said mentally to himself, _"I must be imagining this! I just tried to talk to her a minute ago and she threw me out!"_

Clearly hearing what he had said and confused by what he meant by it, Sam replied mentally to him, _"I did?"_ Then thinking why she did that, she knew. She told his mind, _"Oh, yeah, I __**did**__! Sorry, but I think I would have thrown my entire brain out if that meant getting Spectra out of me just now! She was overshadowing me_—_again! Ugh! But, don't worry. You're not imagining anything! I __**am**__ here now and I won't leave you __**ever**__ again!"_

The sound of her firm mental voice made his heart leap and he knew then that Sam must be here after all. And, inexplicably, he felt relieved. Still, he could barely think what he wanted to say because he felt so dizzy. But he knew what he had to ask her right away. He sent his mental—yet hopeful—question to her, _"T-Then, you're not mad at me? And…you don't want to break up with me?"_

"_Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you? I thought you were livid with __**me **__for everything that happened and I was so worried that __**you**__ wanted to break up with __**me**__! But I can kinda explain…"_ she answered.

His mind eased more when he heard her say that. _"Sam, you have __**nothing**__ to explain! It's __**me **__who should do the explaining! I hurt you, didn't believe or trust you, even when I had somehow had this gut feeling that I should've! I knew you better than that and was __**so **__wrong to doubt you, and I lov-…"_

"_Please, honey, don't!"_ Sam gently pleaded. _"I…understand! If everything happened to you like it happened to me, I would've felt the same doubt! And I hurt you and didn't trust you enough to come out with it all right away! But, like you said, that doubt is gone, and that's because we __**do **__know each other very well…and… __**love **__each other too much to let that keep us apart for too long. It's over now, OK? Now we just have to..."_

But her message was interrupted by Danny's painful scream as he was suddenly jolted by Spectra's energy beam again. Bertrand had revived the shadow ghost by giving her the entire dosage of the pheromones he had just collected from Danny moments ago. The charge that Spectra got from Danny's pheromones was overwhelming yet extremely effective.

Full in strength and vexation, Spectra emptied more of her terrible power into Danny.

And just as the evil ghost attacked her boyfriend, Sam could just as sudden—and inexplicably—_feel_ his pain as strongly as if Spectra had attacked _her_ instead of him.

"NO!" she desperately and defiantly yelled to the shadow ghost, panting with her own pain. "Leave him alone!"

"As if you can stop me, little girl," Spectra countered with an evil laugh, just before she turned to Bertrand and commanded, "I want and need more of his pheromones, Bertrand! They are absolutely delicious! And invigorating, at that! I feel like I can continue to use my powers to their fullest without ever tiring or being drained of any energy! As a matter fact, I believe my level of power has just gone up a notch or two! And now the little ghost freak is certainly no match for me!"

Bertrand lifted the machine up and took aim.

Sam struggled against her bonds, wishing with all her might that she could grab that little machine and dash it firmly to the ground.

Danny screamed, panting in agony once more when the machine was activated. He gripped against his bonds, trying to find something to alleviate his suffering, but found nothing. He let out another cry of pain, as sweat began to drip down his face and his eyes began to water.

Sam's eyes widened in alarm as she watched the once empty vial quickly fill with even more blackish-purple glowing substance. That must be the pheromones that Spectra was talking about! And the girl now knew that when they were removed from her boyfriend, it had hurt him—terribly!

Then, Bertrand continued, filling one vial after another in quick succession until the nearby pouch was full.

And in all that while, Danny had continued to writhe and yell in immense pain as the little machine bled him of his strength—and now, _life_.

Seeing how terrible her boyfriend was now looking, Sam yanked against her bonds more violently and screamed more desperately this time, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Spectra and Bertrand laughed at Sam's insignificant threat. Purposely ignoring the frantic girl, the shape shifter quickly exchanged the now full vial for yet another empty one, before carefully placing the filled one on a nearby tray. He took aim once more just as Spectra evilly chuckled, "Start it up again, Bertrand!"

Danny screamed again and his body shuddered under the assault.

Bertrand quickly replaced the vial with another and started the machine again.

Now livid with defiance, and pulling so hard on her bonds that they were now digging into her flesh, Sam insolently seethed through gritted teeth, **"I SAID: LEAVE. HIM. ALONE!"**

And as soon as she shrieked those words, a large glowing fuschia-colored shield instantly materialized and quickly blanketed her semi-conscious boyfriend.

Spectra and Bertrand gasped in disbelief when, all of the sudden, the vial would not fill! Somehow, the machine's power could not penetrate the shield!

Bertrand immediately rechecked the machine, turning if off and then on again as he did. But Danny remained with his head against his chest, panting heavily, but no longer in any agony, all because he was protected behind the reddish-purple shield. But he was too dizzy to notice that it was there.

Before either of the two wicked ghosts could react, another beam, which was the same in color as the shield, split into two and came at the machine, yanking it right out of Bertrand's hands. The two now shocked ghosts floated helplessly by as the little machine was then sent flying into the nearby wall with such angry force that it was smashed instantly to smithereens.

The ghost couple turned to look in the direction of where the beam had come. Their eyes widened in more disbelief when they now saw a dazed Sam, breathing heavily and perspiring, with wisps of deep purple smoke still bellowing from her right hand. Not a moment after that, the reddish-purple shield disappeared and Sam, dazed by the immense effort, dropped her head to her chest.

"Just how? What?" Spectra blurted out, but she was still too shocked and didn't really know what she was saying. But then, she suddenly regained her wits and grew angry for letting this girl somehow get the upper hand. Just as she floated closer to the girl, she growled, "Just where did you get those powers? And how?"

Sam pulled her head up in spite of still feeling dizzy and glared at the shadow ghost. She had felt differently lately each time she concentrated on trying to make something happen that could somehow help the situation. And even though she knew now that somehow—though she was totally clueless exactly _how_—she was able to make something happen, she wasn't about to satisfy the shadow ghost with any kind of answer. And she wasn't going to give up.

In the meantime, Danny had recuperated enough and began to lift his head. He saw Spectra too close to Sam than he liked and now Bertrand was here, too. He tried to concentrate on willing his healing powers, but he was just too weak.

Then his head jolted when he heard Spectra say, "You'd better spill it out, little girl. Because if you don't, I'll force it out of you!"

That was all Danny needed to hear. He dug within himself, searching for his inner strength. He began to glow a bright blue, and as he concentrated, that aura melded into bright green energy orbs from both of his hands. Feeling enough of his strength return, and with he own defiant yell, he then commanded his ectoplasmic beams forward and each of them forcefully met their targets.

Spectra and Bertrand were thrust away from Sam and splattered on the wall opposite of him. They oozed downward and were momentarily incapacitated by his attack.

"Danny!" Sam called to him, relieved that he had recovered.

But he quickly answered her in their minds, _"No time! We have to get out of here!"_ And just as he said that, he concentrated and his hands glowed once more with his green energy.

However, before his energy beams could buckle the clamps around his wrists, they were cut short by a purple energy blast and a green energy ray from his two ghost foes. The young ghost hybrid screamed as the force of their combined impact dug into his chest. He reflexively closed his eyes at the pain.

But suddenly, he no longer felt any pain and didn't grow weaker. Instead, he felt oddly stronger! He didn't question how, but then he heard his girlfriend's mental voice call to him. And though it seemed to speak with effort, it was full of determination, confidence and love as it uttered, _"Y-you said w-we're –i-in this together, honey! I'm going to try to help, too!" _

He opened his eyes and saw that Sam's brow was furrowed, deep in concentration. And then, somehow—even though he didn't know or question _how_—he _just knew_ that she was actually helping him resist the other ghosts' blows as easily as if she were steadying him while climbing a steep hill.

Encouraged, he charged two more energy bolts from his bond hands and threw them again at Spectra and Bertrand.

Spectra and Bertrand gasped in disbelief by the scene. But before they could even try to avoid the blasts, they were rebuffed by these even stronger blows, and were slammed into the floor.

"_YES!"_ Sam's triumphant yell echoed in his mind, though he could tell that she had said that with some effort.

Now that the two ghosts were distracted, Danny tried to yank his right hand from the mental clamps, intent on succeeding as he struggled. He closed his eyes in concentration and didn't notice the reddish-purple orb that had suddenly surrounded the bonds at his wrists. But he felt some kind of force actually help him pull against his bonds. He didn't question it. All he cared was that it was succeeding. But his still somewhat muddled mind wasn't aware that Sam _was _helping him and that she had even _anticipated_ his plan. He felt the ghostly metal give and recharged by it, pulled harder.

But Spectra and Bertrand had rebounded by inhaling a few of those vials of Danny's pheromones. And once again, Danny's efforts to break free were thwarted by a huge purple energy beam and a thick green energy ray, which angrily rammed him in his chest, effectively knocking the wind out of him this time. He immediately gasped in immense pain before succumbing to the blows. His head spinning as he struggled to get air back into his constricted lungs.

But then he heard another pained gasp in his mind. He didn't know why but somehow he _instinctively knew_ that Sam had felt the blows as well! And that thought hurt him even more than his physical attack. Now anxious to break free, he struggled harder.

But his mind eased a little when he heard his girlfriend call to it, _"Hang on, honey!"_ She had rebounded! But then he frowned. Could it be that she was somehow helping him more than he thought she could? He wasn't sure, but he did feel as if his breathing had become easier.

In spite of still feeling light-headed, he still pressed himself to concentrate once again. The next instant, more of his green ectoplasmic energy charged out at the two ghosts.

Spectra and Bertrand tried to avoid the boy's attack again, but since the small room didn't allow them to move quickly, they bumped into each other. That was enough to put them in the line of fire and they were again thrust to the floor, but the Ghost Boy's weakened energy didn't stop them this time. Still on the floor, they immediately followed up with another round of their combined rays which hit Danny in his chest again. He screamed and then wheezed with the pain. His head spun more violently this time.

But just as he was able to fully gasp the air back into his lungs, he felt his heart constrict this time at what he heard next in quick order: _Sam's_ painful scream reverberating throughout the room, followed by Spectra's angry yell.

"Just what are you doing? And _how_ are you doing all this?" The shadow ghost angrily growled as she slowly pulled herself off the ground, her hand still smoking from the small bolt she had sent Sam's way.

Bertrand was stirring as well, but Spectra ignored him as she studied Sam's face. She had noticed Sam's determined look during the entire time that Danny had attacked her and Bertrand—and just before she stunned the girl. The shadow ghost didn't understand it, but she now suspected that by some means the girl had somehow been involved in those same attacks. After all, she knew that Danny was way too weak at this point to fight back by himself, including making that purple force field. Spectra had to stop the girl from somehow helping the hybrid. And so, just as Bertrand had fully recovered, she turned her attack on the human.

"_Sam!"_ Danny anxiously yelled to his girlfriend's mind as her own heaving, painful panting now filled the room and before she slumped against her bindings from Spectra's blow. He quickly concentrated. Maybe he could reciprocate what he felt she had been able to do for him. He guessed it had something to do with their telepathic connection. Maybe somehow that link made it possible for them to help each other in this way. He wasn't sure, of course. But he sure was gone to try...And a moment later, she lifted up her head to look at him. He just knew that she had just recuperated with his help. And seeing the determined smile intermixed with pain on her face, he was now certain that together they could stand a chance against their two ghost foes.

But just as he did this, Danny's eyes widened as he saw a purple and a green beam coming at them. And since Sam and he were very close to each other and he knew that both of them would be hit.

He reacted instinctively. With all his might, he threw up a large ice shield, which was large enough to shield them both.

Both Bertrand and Spectra gasped as their attacks struck the shield, keeping the couple safe.

Sam and Danny looked at each other, and smiled, more determined than ever.

But right then, Spectra and Bertrand doubled their efforts, their anger and energy slamming against the shield in an attempt to get to their victims.

Danny—_and even Sam_—could feel his strength rapidly draining again with the effort to counter the blows. And knowing they could not last long against the assault on the boy's barrier before it buckled, they quickly turned their focus back on escaping.

She then called to Danny, reassuring him through her mental pants, _"Thanks…to…you… we're…OK, honey…Let's concentrate on getting out of here, OK?"_

"_OK!"_ he quickly replied to only her mind. Both of them now totally focused on this unified effort, and because of what he felt was Sam's encouraging and effective telepathic help in spite of his still weakened state, Danny was able to shove his shield forward until it slammed against Spectra and her assistant. They were rammed into the other wall once more, slid to the ground, and lay stunned again.

Danny could see that the two ghosts were out of commission again for the moment. But his successful attack against his foes came with a price. He could feel his head spin again after sapping away most of his remaining strength with that effort. Still, he gritted his teeth and mentally told his girlfriend, "_OK, Sam, even though I feel like I've been hit with a sledge hammer, I'm going to try to break my bonds again!"_

But he needn't have said that. Now that their minds were totally in sync with each other, Sam already knew! Still, even when they both were worried about the other, the two young teens focused on this sole task. But their concentration was interrupted with a start when they both heard Spectra's frustrated scream.

They both looked up at her, and could also see that Bertrand was still out cold.

The shadow ghost screamed again, her hands glowing with her angry power. What's _with _you two? I can't believe _how _you're able to do all this! It should be impossible!"

She flew right up to Danny and got right into his face. "You look ever the wreck and yet you're still able to fight back? How?"

But since he didn't have the strength right now to blast her again, he only answered her with a defiant glare.

She then floated over to Sam and every muscle in Danny's body tensed. The shadow ghost cupped Sam's chin with one of her hands and holding the girl's chin firmly, Spectra looked right into Sam's eyes and hissed, "And how can you resist _at all_? You're just an ordinary human! I don't get it and it's time I find out once and for all!"

But Sam was ready.

When Spectra tried to overshadow the girl again, she was met by a solid, unwavering mental wall. Spectra growled in frustration and tried again. But this time, she met even stronger resistance.

"I will get to the bottom of this!" The female ghost hissed as she began to power up a powerful purple energy orb.

"NOOO!" Danny anxiously yelled, pulling on his bonds again.

Spectra extinguished her energy and floated back over to Danny. She had unconsciously felt his intense apprehension just now, and was drawn to it. After all, misery was just a notch below that kind of anxiety.

As she drew closer to the boy, she sarcastically said, "I almost wish I had that blasted machine right now to suck up all the angst I'm feeling from you. But, you know, Danny, it's a good thing that you let yourself fall into that kind of apprehension. A good thing for me, that is. Because now, I won't need the machine! I'll just get to your pheromones—the 'trusty therapeutic' way!"

Just as she said that, she grabbed both of his shoulders and started to pull his energy out the 'old fashioned' way, the same way she had used when she had been acting as the teen psychotherapist at their school back then.

The young ghost groaned under this new assault and felt his energy rapidly ebb, especially when, in her own anxious desire to get his energy quickly, she began to dig her sharp shadow nails into him. He felt the biting sting of her strong grip as her claws tore into his ghostly clothing and then into his ghostly flesh. He felt his strength ooze out as easily as his ectoplasm oozed down his costume when her claws unconsciously penetrated deeper, eager to lap up his power.

He resisted his urge to yell with all the pain he was feeling, but he refused to give her the pleasure of knowing how much injury she was now inflicting upon him inside and out. Still, he felt his head spin uncontrollably and he could no longer keep his eyes open under her assault.

And just when he thought he was going to lose the test of wills and pass out, he heard Spectra gasp. He struggled to open his eyes and wondered whether they were playing tricks on him. But he could see only a few moments of what happened next before he finally lost consciousness.

Several small fuschia-colored discs suddenly appeared between the shadow ghost's rapiers and Danny's ghostly skin on both sides of his shoulders. Each of the little circles of energy then wrapped themselves firmly around each of her claws, trapping them within. Then before Spectra could react, all the little discs pulled her nails upward and away from Danny's now unconscious body at the same time.

Immediately after that, Spectra gasped and helplessly looked on as each of the discs on either of her hands melded with the ones next to them until they were now one large disc entirely encasing each of her hands. The two larger circles of energy then violently slammed her hands together and just as quickly melded into only one solid disc this time, which kept both of her hands securely within it. Not a moment later, that solid ball of energy encasing the female Spectre's ghostly hands jolted violently upward and rammed Spectra right between her eyes several hard times.

Groaning at the sudden headache of 'her own' blows to herself, the female ghost staggered in a daze backward and away from the unconscious Ghost Boy. She didn't have the strength at the moment to pull against the deep reddish-purple energy, and continued stumbling in the same backward direction until she bumped into the wall opposite of Danny. With another hard blow from 'herself', Spectra slid downward against the wall until she was sitting dazed next to Bertrand, who was just now stirring after being shoved into the wall by Danny's shield. A moment later, the purple orb around the shadow ghost's clasped hands disappeared.

And just as Bertrand regained consciousness, Spectra weakly commanded, "Stop her, Bertrand!"

Bertrand looked at her in confusion before quickly scanning the room. But the only other 'her' that he could see was Sam. Penelope couldn't possibly mean that human girl, could she? Why should he 'stop' _her_? She was still bound securely to the wall—even looking as if she might pass out any moment—and all his dazed mind could remember at this point was that he and Penelope had been attacked by _the boy_ just moments before!

But his hesitation was all that Sam needed. She tried to ignore the fact that her exhaustion from the mental effort was mounting precipitously. Nevertheless, she concentrated and a fuschia-colored beam poured out of each of her hands. Then, with a defiant flick of her wrists, the beams were as baseball bats swatting Bertrand as if he were the baseball. After the second furious smack, Bertrand was slammed next to Spectra, KO'd once again.

This time, however, Sam couldn't help but succumb to her overwhelming fatigue. Her head was spinning wildly and she was sweating and panting heavily. Her head finally and unwittingly dropped as she tried to control her breathing. But then, she growled in frustration. She wouldn't give in now! Danny was still very hurt and they weren't yet free! Just the same, she knew her body wasn't cooperating. And her spinning head agreed. She really had no choice as she felt her knees give under her and her head drop.

In the meanwhile, Danny was stirring once more and he opened his eyes. He struggled to make his blurry vision come into focus and when it finally did, he gasped when he saw Sam's partially limp body. He then scanned the rest of the room and was confused to see Spectra and Bertrand across the room, temporarily incapacitated, and on the ground. How did that happen? But he didn't want to waste any more time wondering about that. He struggled against his bonds once more. He groaned at the effort.

He then growled in frustration. He was still too weak to break free! He needed another moment to concentrate and will his healing powers. But that moment wasn't long enough. He gasped when he heard Spectra pull herself up off the ground and soar over to them.

Sam, too, had heard the shadow ghost recover. She forced her head up and spied the shadow ghost nearing them.

As she closed in on them, Spectra hissed through her angry, deadly fangs, "All right! I've had enough! I've spent all my energy to get you two apart and I'm not going to have all that hard work go to waste! If I can't have your miserable pheromones, then I'll make sure that you two won't be able to produce anymore!"

She set her sites on Danny and charged up a furious purple energy beam. She smiled wickedly as she said, "I'll start with you, of course, Danny, since it'll be ridiculously easy to bump off your little girlfriend!" She no sooner addressed the boy when she discharged her power.

Danny screamed in pain as he absorbed the full brunt of it and Spectra laughed in hideous glee.

But then, the young hybrid thought he heard Sam mentally yelling to him. But he couldn't answer because of all the stinging pain and that he was struggling to control his panting.

The shadow ghost followed up with another powerful energy blow and cackled in laughter again when Danny screamed again, his body writhing in agony and his breathing becoming more ragged.

Sam was charged to full alert with what she was witnessing. She desperately tried to think on what to do….

Relishing in his physical misery and hoping to confound him, Spectra sneered, "You know, Danny, I have to thank you! I haven't had this much fun since I was in the Spectre Realm!" But she didn't know, of course, that he knew all about her past.

Though his mind whirled with dizziness, he wanted to say something biting to her, but he was struggling too much with the task of breathing. Still, he didn't want her to think she was getting an upper hand. And mustering his grit, he glared at her and defiantly pulled on his bonds once more, even though he knew at this point that his attempt was in vain.

She laughed at his audacity and as she shot another wicked blow upon the boy she jeered, "Well, they say it's pleasurable to reminisce, and I can't say that I disagree!" She instantly charged up an even more powerful blow.

The ghost hybrid again reeled as the large purple ray engulfed and electrocuted his body. This time, his body went partially limp at the shadow ghost's last assault, and he could barely hold his head up. He struggled to hold onto consciousness, fearful if he did lose it, Sam would be next.

When Sam could see that Danny was rapidly falling into unconsciousness, she called desperately to his mind, _"Hold on, Danny! Hold on! I'm going to try something."_

Danny lifted his head a little when he thought he heard Sam's mental cry. But his head was spinning so wildly, he couldn't understand what she was saying. Still, that effort was the last ounce of strength he had and he finally blacked out.

Sam gasped and struggled to stay focused so that she could carry out her plan.

Satisfied that Danny was outspent and she could finish him momentarily, Spectra turned her attention to Sam. "Now, it's your turn, little girl!" the shadow ghost growled with murderous, ghostly breath. She immediately followed her comment with thrusting a small but, biting, ray at the girl. Spectra had purposely made it weak enough to just torture the girl and she laughed when Sam screamed in agony at the onslaught. The vile ghost wanted to see the girl suffer before she took her out.

Sam growled in defiance in spite of her pained panting and tried to stifle her next yell when Spectra sent another beam at her.

Spectra evil voice was mixed with sadistic laughing as she said, "Just love your brave front there, little girl! But it doesn't really matter. Just as well, then, that I may never know how you were able to do all that stuff, but it won't be even a passing thought for me after I'm finished with you!" She ended that with another shot at the girl.

The human girl's now pounding and spinning head could barely comprehend what Spectra had just said. But then, she was hit again; and before Sam knew it, she was limp and barely clinging to consciousness.

The shadow ghost wickedly licked her smiling fangs, anxious to finish the deed. But before Spectra could fully charge her deadly ray, she abruptly stopped. What were those loud crashing sounds above? It sounded like they were coming from the direction of the lab!

And even though Sam was confused by all the noise as well, she was certain that for some reason, its volume was quickly diminishing as surely as her vision was rapidly going.

And then finally, everything went totally black.


	53. Chapter 53 Desperate Measures

**A/N: MAN! I NEVER thought I would get this chapter posted! I was sick this week, my beta was sick this week, and, of all things, my COMPUTER was sick this week! But two of us are better and I wish my beta was one of those two. But she's a real champ to help me in spite of being a sick puppy. What a great friend! Thanks, pearl!**

**But now, it's time to get back to the story. And are you panting in fear as much as I am? I'm dreading what's going to happen next! So, let's get right on to Chapter 53 after the 'IDNOAC' thing! And this is one of my fav chapters, too. Well, really to the very end! There is some intensity here, too, so I just need to warn ya about that, OK? So, here is Chapter 53. Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 53—Desperate Measures

Tucker and Valerie and the two enchanted animal ghosts headed straight to the same ghost boulder on the same ghost shelf behind which they had first hid on their first visit to Spectra's lair. Once they were all settled, they peeked around the boulder and toward the shadow ghost's floating lair. They could plainly see that the entire lair was just as dark and seemingly empty as the last time they were there.

Tucker and Valerie quickly scanned the area with their instruments, this time looking specifically for Bertrand's, Spectra's and Danny's signatures. But they came up empty. But, of course, they wouldn't have detected their ghostly signatures now that Bertrand had been sure to activate his 'ghost-signature scrambler' device once he had returned to the little room under the lair.

"Now what?" Valerie asked in exasperation after pulling herself behind the boulder once again. She was totally confused as to why the lair seemed to be uninhabited when all of them had supposed that Bertrand had come back here.

"I don't know," Tucker answered, biting his lip when he rechecked his PDA. It still could not detect any ghosts within the lair. "I didn't detect even a _trace_ of Spectra's, Bertrand's or Danny's signatures on the way here. Maybe they're in a totally different hideout after all. That's definitely not good."

Valerie, meanwhile, recalibrated her instruments and scanned a wider area beyond the lair. She then frowned in frustration. The readings were still jumbled! She pushed another button and rechecked them, only for them to show that her device was just as confused about her command to tell her something—anything—as she was in trying to read whatever data her device could display. She narrowed the scanning range around the lair again and then gasped. She saw another energy reading that confused her even more. It was fluctuating oddly…and it did-and really _didn't_—look all that _ghostly_. As she studied these new readings, she noticed another wave of that same energy appear. She immediately pushed a button to record it on her instruments.

She finally looked up at Tucker, who had already noticed when she had gasped and had been watching her check her instruments.

Knowing by that look that he wanted to know what she found, the girl then said, "Well, I can't be certain, but there is some kind of activity in the lair; but I don't know what kind or exactly where it is. But one thing I can tell you: it is some kind of powerful energy. And I can also tell you that Danny's ectoplasmic energy signature is _not_ here."

"Yeah, I can confirm that," Tucker muttered. But I didn't pick up anything else in there. Then, what do you think that weird energy you're reading means?"

"I don't know, Tucker," she sadly said before falling into silence.

They looked in silence at each other, trying to encourage the other not to panic as they wracked their brains on what they should do next.

In the meantime, once the dove and the lynx had learned that they and their companions were at a dead end once more, they began to converse between themselves in secret—again…

"I cannot explain it, Derek, but I have an overwhelming feeling. I am certain that Sir Danny continues to be in grave danger..." Sarah insisted before pausing slightly. She then added, "And I cannot help but feel that Spectra is nearer than we think. She must definitely return here."

Derek looked to his enchanted wife and saw how serious she was. He did not doubt her and replied, "I agree, Wife, but we do not know, of course, of the exact time when she will return or if we need to continue to look heaven knows where. But, perhaps with our two human companions, we can secure some kind of indication on what we should do next."

"I pray you are right, Husband, but I also hope we are not too late! I just cannot bear the thought that we may have failed," the dove replied as she felt her tears press outward.

Derek was moved by her great concern and determination. He smiled weakly and softly said, "I have not told you often enough how much I love you and how I am honored to have you as my wife."

Her entire avian face lit up with his words, but she quietly replied, "I feel the same about you, my love. You have done me nothing but honor these many centuries; and by your noble actions now to do what is right, you have now saved me from impending despair. Even if we need to be doomed to our sad state for eternity, I am content with the knowledge that our love will sustain us through it all, and I will share it with my husband in strength and hope anew."

He smiled at her words, but then grew more serious as he said, "You honor me again. But we must first find a way to finish our task here."

He looked over to Tucker and Valerie, who were rechecking their instruments again, still uncertain of what plan of action they should take at this point.

He then turned back to his enchanted wife and said, "But it looks like our young friends over there are as much at a loss as we are at knowing the whereabouts of Sir Danny. Nevertheless, until such a time as Sir Tucker and his Lady form a new direction for us, we still have the duty to destroy the evil concoctions that still exist in the laboratory of that wicked sorceress who resides over in yonder lair. For once, and even though it has been late in coming, fate has finally granted us her favor. And now that the opportunity has been presented to us, I wish to destroy the laboratory here as deftly as we destroyed her servant's."

Sarah glanced over to the Tucker and Valerie before looking at her husband again. "I agree that we have more time than we had thought, Husband. And it may be safe to do our task after all. It would also give me peace to know that the vile Spectra will not be able to use her black arts on any other ghost. But let us make haste in secret. We must be ready in our oath to help Sir Danny before our young companions command otherwise from us."

Now that they were in agreement with their own timely plans, Sarah flitted up upon her husband's head right away and pecked him gently. He flicked his ear; and in the next instant, the ghost couple turned intangible and invisible. Derek then hurriedly and silently soared toward Spectra's lair.

Valerie and Tucker had been so caught up in their own conversation once more that they had not had noticed what the animal couple had done—again.

But when the humans had finally decided to confer with the ghost animals, several minutes had already past. And when Tucker and Valerie saw that the ghosts weren't there, they both groaned, "Not again!"

"Do you think…?" Tucker began, only to be interrupted by loud crashing sounds emanating from Spectra's lair.

"Does _that_ answer your question?" Valerie replied.

They both nodded to the other, no doubt of having the same hunch.

Without needing to say anything more, Tucker grabbed Valerie's waist just as she pressed the button on her hover-board with her boot. They quickly soared over to the darkened lair. And just as they neared the front door, one of Valerie's weapons shot forth from her hand and she took aim at the door.

But just before she could blast it open, they heard the bone-chilling shattering of a nearby window!

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Bertrand, who had been knocked senseless by Sam's attack, was jolted back to consciousness by the next loud crash. He groggily, yet anxiously, scanned his surroundings, trying to make sense of what might be causing such a ruckus. He turned his ghostly ear toward the melee and then gasped. That was enough to fully clear his mind.

"What _is_ that?" Spectra cried, looking upward toward the trapdoor as the noise increased in the next few moments.

In the meantime, Sam was also suddenly jolted back to reality at the next loud crash since it shook the ceiling of the underground room. She moaned at her still-spinning head, as she had yet to recover from Spectra's blows. Nevertheless, she then startled again at the next set of crashes and through her blurry vision, made herself look upward, wondering what that could be. But she really didn't care. Whatever that was, it was distracting Spectra. Her vision clearing a little more, she glanced over to her boyfriend and could see that he was still out of commission. That was all she needed to see to know that she had to concentrate more intensely now. But her dizziness would not give her that option; and in spite of her grit, the girl succumbed and fell unconscious again.

Meanwhile, growling in even more frustration that her plans look to be unraveling, Spectra glanced at her assistant. And seeing that he was finally awake, she called his name and pointed upward toward the trap door.

He really didn't need any of her prodding in the least this time, as he just knew that the sounds they were hearing were coming from yet another of his pride and joy—his lab here! He quickly bolted upward, pushing the button to deactivate the shield masking their energy signatures and opening the trap door without losing any speed. He soared out of the hole in the floor, and didn't take the time to close the spring-loaded door. But in his anxiety to hurry to investigate the noise, he knocked over a nearby lamp once he was in the upper living room and sent it loudly crashing to the ground. Still, he headed toward the laboratory.

Derek's sharp ears heard the crashing lamp above the noise he and his wife were making and he immediately hissed to the dove, "Someone is coming!"

His wife's eyes widened but she grabbed the next glass vial with her feet nevertheless and hurled it to the floor.

"It might be our companions; but be ready, my love, in case it is not!" Sarah replied as she continued in her task. But when she saw the label on the next vial, she had an idea rush forward in her mind. She grasped the flask with her feet and flew over to the lynx to show it to him. "This one might be of service to us!" she said, before adding, "I will also be ready if you need it of me!"

But just before she prepared herself, she glanced to another part of the lab and jolted in surprise and confusion. There was a pouch full of Sir Danny's glowing black pheromones here? She frowned. She was sure that the pouch they had already found and retrieved before they began destroying the other lab was safely with Sir Danny's friends... She gasped. This must be yet _another_ such container! Her ghost throat hitched in dread. She just knew, then, that those evil ghosts were surely inflicting dangerous injury on the boy.

She silently gulped when she suddenly recalled some of Bertrand's words in one of the many conversations she had overheard between the wicked Spectra and her servant….Something about reminding Spectra to wait for the machine if she wanted more…what was that word that Sir Tucker had said? Now she wasn't sure. But their name didn't matter. Sarah had never heard of 'pheromones' before, and could not imagine what they would be. But she did know from what she had observed all the time she and Derek were prisoners of Spectra and her evil servant that these...things…had to be given to others through some kind of machine, unless they belonged to that same person. And she also now knew that these vials had to hold those very same things that the evil ghost and her servant had wanted to take from Danny, and that when doing that, they would be hurting him _very_ badly, with the dark purpose of maybe even killing him!

These had to be the very same things! She sighed in frustration when she looked over the glowing containers once more. If only she could get them back to the boy and help him! But she knew she couldn't, and could only do what she could right now. Then tightening her hold on the vial of the brownish-green substance she still held within the grasp of her feet, she braced herself for whatever might happen next.

Derek smiled with pride at his brave wife. And he understood her plan. He flew near the doorway, hiding on its left and in the shadows. He waited anxiously, praying that it was their young human friends. But he was ready if it were their enemies. A split second later, Bertrand came into the lab and Derek reacted at once and pounced upon him, pushing the shape shifter to the ground, their momentum almost pushing them out of the lab's entrance.

Though taken by surprise, Bertrand was just as quick to react. He threw off the wildcat, sending him deeper into the lab, before he instantly morphed into his wolf form. Derek rebounded almost instantly afterward, and baring his claws and fangs in anger, charged at the wolf.

As black and green wrestled aggressively in mid-air, Sarah flitted close by with her makeshift weapon, desperately looking for the opportunity to help her husband. All of the sudden, Derek then pulled away, giving his wife a chance to act. But before she could, Bertrand's large paw hooked itself around Derek's hind leg and pulled him downward.

But Derek took advantage of the situation. He aimed his claws straight at his attacker as the momentum of that downward yank slammed Derek right into the shape-shifter's body. Bertrand shrieked in pain as liquid green seeped around those black claws, but answered that blow right away with a hard, sharp punch.

Derek groaned at the insult, but did not relent. He thrust his body at his enemy once more and in their struggle, they tumbled right out of the lab and into the next room.

Sarah pursued after the grappling male animals with the vial still secured within her avian feet. But then, as she reached the new room, she noticed light streaming out of the floor nearby. She turned toward it and gasped. A trap door! A hidden room! That is where Spectra was holding Sir Danny, she just knew it! "Derek!" she anxiously screamed. "They have Sir Danny down below the floor in a hidden room!"

But even though he heard his wife and had seen some blurs of an unexplained light from the floor somewhere to his left as he wrestled with the green wolf, at the moment, of course, the wildcat didn't have a chance to do any more than fight with Bertrand. Even still, his wife had inadvertently distracted him enough for the ghost wolf to take full advantage of it.

Bertrand, who was now on his back and under the wildcat, threw his paw upward toward the lynx's belly this time. His green claws dug in and lifted the wildcat with the intent of thrusting him across the room.

Derek roared with pain and Sarah screamed in fear for him.

But then, Derek violently arched his back, successfully pulling away from Bertrand's spikes. He then twisted violently back down with a roar onto the wolf, retaliating with all four sets of his claws and his fangs.

This time, it was Bertrand's turn to howl with the sharp throb. The fury of the smaller ghost animal was still impressive and unpredictable enough to throw the larger beast off guard. Still, Bertrand was quick to return the lynx's blow with one of his own.

The ghost dove looked anxiously on as the two males fought on. She wished she could help her husband, but since they were so entangled with each other, she still had no opportunity to do so! Her eyes frantically searched the area for some other way to help, but then they came to rest upon the open trap door. And then she knew how else she could help.

She quickly darted toward the lab. Once there, she carefully put down the vial of her makeshift weapon that she still clutched with her avian feet. She hurriedly and anxiously looked among the tousled shelves. There it was! Without hesitating, she flew to it. She scooped up the glowing pouch needed for Danny with her beak. She then turned it and herself invisible and intangible, and quickly soared out of the lab, heading back to the room containing the trap door leading to the secret room below.

And just as she returned to the room where her husband and Bertrand were fighting, she saw Bertrand raise his angry paw upward. She felt her ghostly throat hitch. It took everything within her not to drop the pouch and scream when she saw that awful servant's claws come downward toward her husband. Still, she concentrated on her task.

Derek felt his body being angrily thrown across the room with Bertrand's blow. He slammed into the furniture there as if he were a bowling ball striking all of the pins at once.

He groaned, but pulled himself upward. He wasn't going to give in yet.

But then, it looked like Bertrand wasn't going to do that, either! The green wolf had charged right after the lynx even as the black wildcat was plowing into the loose furniture. In an instant, Bertrand was nearly on top of the lynx.

But Derek saw him and was barely able to escape the wolf's next angry blow. He darted upward, trying to gain some time to rest a bit. He knew he would not be able to fight much longer against this much more powerful foe. Still, he would not stop at this point. He couldn't. Just then, he spied another small lamp in a darkened corner. And he knew what he might be able to do.

In all this while, the two grappling males had been so busy in their struggle that they never noticed when the invisible Sarah and pouch had soared past them and plunged downward into the bright hole in the floor…

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Down below the floor, Spectra had been waiting anxiously, wondering about what was happening when Bertrand had left to investigate all that noise.

Then, there was a slight break in the noise; and in that tense silence, she couldn't help but keep her eyes glued to the hole in the floor above her. But then she growled when she suddenly heard what was obviously a struggle…between snarling animals! And one of them was definitely Bertrand!

That was enough to bring her back to the matter at hand. She turned back to the two senseless teens. Her mind instantly screened out the ruckus above as a dark smile crept onto her lips. It was time to deliver the final blow to them both.

She began to float toward them when she suddenly spied the pouch full of Danny's glowing pheromones , the ones that they had just obtained from the hybrid since they had taken him to this room. And when she looked at their glow, another thought unexpectedly ensnared her mind. Here they were, all that power—all that agelessness—all just for her taking! She just knew they would make her young virtually forever! And once she had all that, she would be invincible… She smiled. This moment could not be more delicious: she didn't have Bertrand here nagging her to share them with him…

But then, she gritted her teeth, perturbed at her next thought. She couldn't have their _full _effects unless she had that blasted machine! And _that girl_ had destroyed it! Her eyes narrowed in hate as she began to turn back to the teens again. But then, she stopped. Her tense jaw relaxed as she licked her lips in anticipation at her next idea: _neither_ she _nor_ Bertrand could get their full effects unless they had the machine. And that would only mean that only _one_ of them would benefit from them. And that 'one' might as well be _her_.

That was all she needed to give in to her greed. She glided right over to the pouch and began to inhale all of the vials.

All the while, the evil shadow ghost ignored the sounds of the obviously violent fight just above her. And she was not aware of a small invisible and intangible ghost who had just entered the secret room and had narrowly missed running into her just as the shadow ghost had begun to move toward the vials.

Sarah was glad the strap of the pouch had gagged her gasp when she immediately spied Spectra and hurriedly pulled away from her, easily and silently gliding around her. She relaxed a little when she was successful in avoiding the evil ghost.

Still invisible and intangible, the ghost dove frantically searched the little room; and at first saw only a bunch of boxes stacked here and there, and other damaged boxes strewed about. Her bosom tightened in dread. She somehow knew a battle had taken place. She moved quickly around them, not giving up. She just _knew_ he was here. She then spied a few more boxes sloppily stacked in the near distance, blocking her view of the far corner.

She didn't hesitate to peer around those boxes. It was then her eyes widened when she finally noticed Danny and saw his tattered black and white suit and his disheveled, partially-scorched white hair on his limp, bound body. What flesh she could see on him was not only wounded and splattered with green ectoplasm, but was extremely and dangerously pale.

Squelching her impulse to cry in remorse, the ghost bird steeled herself as she silently, but hurriedly, hovered near the boy before carefully lowering and then depositing the pouch right behind a small box that was right next to him. Then, she knew she had to return to the lab to retrieve the vial she had left, her 'make-shift weapon'. She needed it to stop that wicked sorceress ghost. But as she turned to retrace her path, she saw Sam! The stack of boxes had initially hidden her view of the girl.

This time, the dove unconsciously gasped at how injured the human girl was with her own cuts and bruises; and this time, Spectra heard it!

Chiding herself when she saw the female shadow ghost snap her head and glare in her direction, Sarah was even more thankful she was invisible. Still, this was not good news. That evil ghost might hurt those two teens right away from her carelessness! Now, she was desperate. She had to hurry. Time was of essence.

She flew upward in such great haste, that she phased right through the ceiling instead of going through the trapdoor. She had to save as much time as possible in order to reach the lab quickly and get that weapon.

But just as she reached the room where Derek and Bertrand were still fighting, she saw a small flying lamp coming right at her! She gasped; but then the lamp went right _through_ her since she was still invisible and intangible! And the next instant, the lamp smashed against the side of Bertrand's muzzle.

Sarah ignored the chill of terror that went up her ghostly spine at the sound of Bertrand's panged and incensed howl. Instead, she steeled herself and flew back into the lab, now more determined to do her part to stop at least one of these two evil ghosts just as Derek was trying to stop Bertrand.

She secured that much-needed other vial within the firm grasp of her avian feet. Turning invisible and intangible once more, she bounded back into the room containing not only the entrance to the hidden underground room, but also, of course, the heated battle of the two male ghost animals.

She had arrived just to see Bertrand charging at her husband again! This time, Bertrand's large paw's aim was true and he delivered a powerful swat to the wildcat. He hit the lynx so hard that the smaller animal was propelled through the nearest window, its ghostly pane shattering like the haunting and eerie tinkling of many ancient bells.

Sarah was briefly stunned by the sight. But then, this only made her want to pressed on even more with her mission, even if she could strangely feel the painful vibrations of the shattering window echo within her. She knew that her husband would understand. And she no longer hesitated to plunge once again through the trap door in the floor…

And just as she did, Bertrand had bolted off the floor, right after he had thrust Derek out the window. But he was also now livid for having given the lynx an opportunity to escape. All he could now focus on was finally destroying that impudent little wildcat. Still, he was too big to pursue the lynx through that window without morphing. And if he did, the lynx would have the advantage against his smaller size once he passed through the window.

Trying to get his bearings, his lupine eyes darted around the room. He then spied the front door! Without hesitation and without a glance at the still open trap door, Bertrand twisted violently to his left and headed for the exit. As he charged out of the lair, bellowing his angry cry and soaring toward the direction the lynx would be, the wolf bared his claws and fangs in a furious counterattack.

He aggressively snaked around the corner toward the back of the lair, only to meet the barrel of Valerie's large gun instead—just moments before she fired…

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After having been thrown out the window, Derek immediately recovered on the outside of the lair, only to notice a presence right next to him. He reeled around, ready for a counterattack, when he saw Tucker and Valerie!

Still with his guard up, Derek hastily panted to the human teens, "Quickly! Your friend Sir Danny must be inside! In a secret room in the floor!"

Just then, they heard a _very_ nearby wolf's aggressive howl. A few moments later, they then heard Sarah's distant pained scream.

All three companions tensed in reaction to both chilling sounds, especially when they could tell that the wolf's cry was _outside_.

Derek's quick hearing could tell that his wife's scream had come from the inside, but more than that. It had come from an even deeper place. And he had a hunch where. "Sarah is still inside and in trouble!" Derek then screamed before adding with apprehension, "And that wolf we hear close by is Spectra's evil servant! He is in pursuit of me!"

Tucker hurriedly told the lynx, "You go help your wife and we'll take care of this turkey!"

Derek bolted right back into the broken window out of which he had been thrown and searched for the light in the floor. Immediately seeing it, and just as instantly looking for and not seeing his wife, he unhesitatingly acted on his hunch. He thrust downward through the bright hole…

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As Sarah pushed herself downward further into the hidden underground room with her makeshift weapon still within her avian feet, she threw her fears aside. She knew all along that Spectra might be waiting for her. That danger couldn't wait to swallow her. But it didn't matter. She had to be here. She had to help.

Then, suddenly, Spectra was near! As soon as Sarah materialized enough so that she could use her entire energy and strength to hurl the vial at the evil shadow ghost, Spectra spied her and immediately jolted the bird with a powerful ray.

Feeling her body being electrocuted without mercy, Sarah screamed in agony, but all she could do at that point was to absorb the blow. Finally, after what felt like eternity to the ghost dove, Spectra extinguished her beam and the enchanted girl dropped to the ground, completely made helpless by the attack.

Spectra smiled to herself and wickedly cackled, "Looks like this is just my day! Just my day to wring your little neck, that is! But before I do, I'd much rather have the pleasure of inflicting _lots _of pain on you first!"

She was about to release more of her energy beam to attack the dove with when she heard a loud roar.

It was Derek, who upon seeing his Sarah crumpled upon the floor as he had entered the small, secret room, had immediately growled in anger and lunged at the shadow ghost.

But Spectra jumped out of the way, sending the powerful burst of purple energy she had intended for the dove toward the lynx as she did.

Derek gasped when he saw the beam heading right at him and jolted upward, barely missing Spectra's assault. He then pulled himself into a back bend just before soaring downward in a counterattack. He quickly dodged another one of the female human ghost's rays and bolted more aggressively toward her. He got close enough to attempt a swipe at her with his furious, biting claws. They made firm contact, digging deeply into Spectra's shoulder just as the lynx pulled away and headed toward the ceiling of the small room.

Spectra yelled as her ectoplasm oozed out of the new wound and she growled in rage. Her eyes were ablaze with fiery red frenzy as she leapt upward in pursuit of the small wildcat. She closed the gap before Derek could twist back around and downward for another swoop against the evil ghost.

Grabbing his tail, Spectra violently pulled him downward and the lynx yelped as he violently slammed into the floor. He lay momentarily in a daze, lights flickering before his ghostly eyes. But then, he snapped to attention when those lights were suddenly shadowed by Spectra's attacking claws and body, and the male wildcat ghost bolted sidewise, barely avoiding her.

This time, it was the female Spectre's turn to slam into the floor. She hadn't been able to slow her momentum when her victim had escape; and with the brunt of her crash landing, she, too, was left stunned.

Taking advantage of this small window of opportunity, Derek soared over to his wife.

Sarah was just rousing from the sting of Spectra's initial attack; and when the dove's vision finally cleared enough for her to see her husband, she hurriedly whispered, "Quickly, Husband! We must free Sir Danny and Lady Sam before more harm comes to them! They are over there!" She pointed with her wing, glancing fretfully at the two teens when she could see that they were still incapacitated. "I know how to help the boy. Please free his lady!"

"But…" her husband began, worried when he had seen that his wife had ectoplasm seeping from her other wing.

"Please, my love! Just for me!" Sarah pleaded as she splayed her wings and pulled herself fully upward with one swoop. Ignoring the pain searing her injured wing with each movement, and now unable to become invisible due to her injury and her weakened state, she soared over to the pouch of glowing vials that she had hidden just before her failed attack upon Spectra. With great effort, she quickly pulled the pouch over and right next to the unconscious boy.

Hovering while she desperately scanned the area, the dove smiled weakly when she spied what she needed. Without hesitation, she flew over to it.

Meanwhile, Derek had flown over to Sam. Just before he grasped one of the clamps with his powerful jaws, he noticed that the girl's wrist was already injured. He growled under his breath, now livid at the shadow ghost who he was sure was responsible for the girl's multiple lacerations and injuries. But he didn't lose his concentration and clamped down upon Sam's metal bond, careful not to scrape or injure the unconscious girl's wrist any further when he did. Satisfied that it was time to pull on the clamp, he arched his back, ready to yank on them with all his might. But it was right then that his sharp ears heard Spectra stirring.

He gasped when the boxes that had been shielding him, his wife and the teens were blasted away. He immediately lodged his hind legs against the wall right next to Sam. Pulling himself tightly to the wall; and not unlike loading and then activating a spring, he pushed outward with his hind legs and soared toward Spectra. He didn't waver to pounce on her, even though she was still on the floor.

But before he could sink his teeth into her ghostly human neck, she grabbed him by his feline shoulders. Just as she lifted him high over her own shoulders, she drove a tremendous jolt of deep lavender energy into his body at the same time from both of her hands.

The lynx yelped in pain, helpless under her blow.

Certain that she had significantly hurt him, Spectra threw him away from her.

His body flailed uncontrollably in the air as he was hurled away from the shadow ghost. An instant later, Derek finally rammed right into the opposite wall. He groaned in pain as he slipped down the wall and onto the floor. At that moment, he lay too stunned to rebound.

Spectra looked in hate upon the lynx before suddenly spying what the dove was up to. The wicked ghost then caught sight of the pouch of unmistakably glowing vials and she gasped in instant recognition of the enchanted girl's plans.

The shadow ghost seethed, "So, you think yourself clever after all, Sarah? I don't think so! Your birdbrain plan won't work! Danny's strength is too far gone! In fact, since I'm now more powerful than even your little mind can possibly imagine, I think it's time for me to prove to you just how much he's hanging on for dear life—literally!"

Sarah gasped as the evil, overconfident shadow ghost floated toward the unconscious boy. But the enchanted dove didn't stop in her efforts. She struggled to lift the hammer she had spied and forced herself to fly with it in haste toward Danny.

Again, Spectra yelled with both cockiness and contempt, "I won't give you the satisfaction of seeing him have an ounce of a chance to recover, because your plan is futile! Rather, I'll let you have the honor—or I should say _dis_honor—of being the one responsible for his death—and his girlfriend's demise, as well—all because of your rash actions right now!"

Sarah gasped with dread at Spectra's words; and although her first reaction was to accept as true what the evil ghost said about Danny's not being able to benefit from what she was planning to do and just give up, she now knew better than to believe that ghost's lies. She pushed onward even when her effort was sapping her own strength rapidly away and even when she could see that Spectra was charging up a very powerful ray. A ray so powerful, it was slightly larger than the diameter of the dove's own body and now pulsating with such an ominously dark purple glow, it was as a famished animal, growling with its murderous intent. And the young bird feared, most certainly, that it would be a lethal ray to Danny.

And just as Sarah finally got close enough with the hammer to drop it on the pouch of glowing vials directly under it, the enchanted dove remained focused and righteously cried, "Have you no fear of God, you wicked demon? I will not allow you to hurt these two innocents again while I still exist!"

As soon as she said that, Sarah let the hammer fall; and as the heavy instrument plummeted downward, several things happened at once: Spectra released her fatal beam toward Danny; the hammer finally slammed into the vials, breaking them all open and releasing their contents; and Sarah threw herself in front of Danny, ready to absorb Spectra's terrible power.


	54. Chapter 54 Unintentionally Sidetracked

**OHMIGOSH, y'all! What a totally appropriate title for this chappie! I wanted to let you know what was happening outside of Spectra's lair with Tucker and Valerie's fight with Bertrand, and didn't think that it would take too long. But then, suddenly, this chappie begged me to tell you this angle of the fight between Tucker and Valerie and Bertrand! And since I'm such a sucker for my chappies' pressuring me to let them have their way, I couldn't say no! So, here is that bratty chapter, Chapter 54. And all right, all ready! Geez! I didn't forget the 'IDNOAC' thing! Ahem, hope you enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Chapter 54—Unintentionally Sidetracked

"He's just disappeared, Tucker!" Valerie screamed when her pink beam completely missed the shape-shifter. But she didn't know that Bertrand had morphed into a ghost fly to avoid the blast. Right after that, he had soared upward and away from the two teens who had surprised him.

Tucker, who was still in tandem behind Valerie on her hover-board, didn't answer her right away. He had momentarily let go of her waist so that he could pull out his PDA. And at that moment, he was busy pounding commands into his PDA, the same commands he had used to track Bertrand to his lair. He gasped and finally answered his girl, "No, he didn't! He's coming in fast, twenty degrees to our right!"

"Hang on!" she commanded as her hover-board suddenly and rapidly plunged downward with its two passengers.

But Valerie really hadn't given Tucker time to react. He hadn't had time to grab a hold of her again. After all, it hadn't occurred to him that her hover-board was as much as her 'third arm' as his PDA was his. And just as the board radically altered its position, he promptly fell off it with a surprised yell.

"Tucker!" she screamed in dread as she looked back up at him.

He was floating several yards above her, within the swirling blacks and greens of the Ghost Zone as if he were in suspended animation.

Valerie was just about to retrace her flight back to him when she caught movement in the corner of her left eye. She immediately looked in that direction. Then, she suddenly saw a creature appear out of nowhere, heading right toward her boyfriend!

But the creature hadn't appeared out of nowhere. Bertrand had morphed from being a fly into being a humongous Frankenstein-like ghost once the shape-shifter had seen what had happened to the boy.

The large green ghost monster immediately threw his hands upward above his head and willed a long, thick purple stick with two wide and wicked-looking blades on either end to appear between his outstretched arms. Smiling with dark intent, the hideous creature quickly twirled the rod within his hands as he soared faster toward the teen drifting helplessly where he had fallen off the hover-board. Bertrand was soaring so quickly and twirling his dreaded weapon so violently, it was as if the evil ghost were a warplane with razor sharp propellers swooping down upon the human boy. He set his sites on Tucker, eager to dice him up.

Tucker jolted in fear when he saw what was rapidly coming at him. But he quickly steeled himself, ignoring the nervous sweat that suddenly pawed at his brow, and pushed the command buttons on his PDA. In the next instant, the beret-wearing teen had disappeared right before Bertrand was near enough to do any harm!

"What?" Bertrand gasped in disbelief and halted in mid-flight. He growled, "Not again!"

But his hesitation was Valerie's advantage. She had already soared upward, charging angrily with her readied gun right at the ghost who threatened her guy.

And when Bertrand had stopped in confusion at Tucker's ruse, the Red Huntress immediately shot a large pink anti-ghost beam at the monster.

Valerie hit her target squarely and the Frankenstein Bertrand howled in pain and fury. He immediately twisted back toward her, panting in anger and twirling the same rod in his hands in response; but in the heat of his rage, the power of its whirling momentum had increased fifty-fold.

The now hurricane-like force winds pulsating from his spinning rod smacked right into Valerie, pushing her and her hover-board violently backward.

"Eyow!" the Red Huntress screamed as she, her flying machine and a multitude of other debris tumbled out of control from the tremendous wake of that rotating rod. Passing—and barely missing—multiple nearby shelves and doors, the huntress' body finally plowed right into a green boulder upon a floating black shelf about a hundred feet from where her unwanted flight had started. With a loud and very hard thud, she and her hover-board fell to the floor of the shelf with her now motionless hover-board ending on top of her unconscious body.

Tucker, who was still invisible and was now also about a hundred feet in front and to the left of Valerie, had watched the entire scene between his girlfriend and Bertrand. He gasped when he saw that his girl had gotten the short end of the stick and now was not moving near that boulder he saw her ram into just moments ago.

"_Get up, honey_!" he unconsciously and worriedly commanded, knowing from the way that Bertrand was frantically searching through the debris for the girl that he had not yet seen her. And Tucker was certain that right now, only he, and not Bertrand, was the first to track to where she ended up. There wasn't much time! He knew he had to do something to help her in a hurry—somehow, that is.

Now worried that Bertrand would surely spot Valerie at any moment, Tucker instinctually inputted newer commands on his PDA. As he pushed the last button, he nervously glanced over to his still unmoving girlfriend. And by the time his frantic heart could thump its next beat, his fingers finally thumped the final button on his PDA to fulfill his command, and Valerie instantly disappeared from sight before Bertrand could successfully track her.

Tucker began to sigh in relief, only for it to meld into a gasp when he noticed _his _now fully _visible_ hand holding his now completely _visible_ PDA! Scanning the atmosphere for any signs of Bertrand, he frantically uttered, "Oh, man! Didn't know that I _couldn't_ do that little trick for two people when they're at different locations! That means that I can only keep me **or** Valerie invisible. Not both of us. And, of course, protecting her comes first. She's in no condition to defend herself right now." Although he was glad he could keep his girl safe from Bertrand, the boy groaned in despair as he muttered, "Note to self: gotta split this program to work for two separate entities."

"If I live through this, that is!" he fretfully cried just as he could see that the Frankenstein-like Bertrand had just spied him again and was headed right to him!

Livid that these two human brats had outwitted him, Bertrand angrily morphed his rod into a large, wicked sword and furiously soared toward the helplessly floating male teen.

Knowing that he was a sitting duck right now, Tucker grunted with anxiety. Still, he forced himself to concentrate on another quick plan. As the boy continued to program his commands into his PDA, Bertrand increased his speed, sneering in triumph, and just as eager to run the irksome boy right through with his angry blade.

Tucker steeled himself to wait….until…the…..last….possible…moment…..

And just when the techno master thought Bertrand was _way_ too close, the bespectacled human pushed the last command on his wondrous little machine. Instantly, a huge blinding white beam of light sprayed right into Bertrand's eyes.

Recoiling immediately from the sting in his eyes, Bertrand screamed as his ghost body reflexively pulled upward away from the assault, and the hand holding his sword unconsciously shielded his eyes. But, because of the tremendous speed that Bertrand had built up, he had not slowed his forward momentum in spite of his reaction to Tucker's attack.

And this was exactly the chance for which Tucker was hoping. He stretched his body toward one side as much as he could; and just as the shape-shifter brushed past him, the teen grabbed onto the bottom of the ghost's shirt. And because Bertrand had been going so fast before the light hit him, he inadvertently pulled Tucker along with him.

But once the ghost monster recuperated from the light's assault, he realized right away that he had an unwanted passenger. He raised his sword; but before he could swing it downward with the intention of carving the teen from his side, Tucker gave the monster's shirt a hard yank and then let go.

"Yes!" Tucker yelled as he riveted off of Bertrand as if the ghost had been a ghostly sling-shot; and having used the ghost's own momentum as the teen's launch point, the results were just as Tucker had hoped. Thanks to the ghost's unintentional help, Tucker had been propelled toward the same shelf where Valerie had been thrown after her encounter with Bertrand's 'whirlwind' trick.

In the meantime, Valerie began to stir. She groaned, forcing her blurry vision to clear. But then, she couldn't believe what her eyes were telling her. Tucker was…flying? But worse yet, he seemed to be flying way too quickly toward her—with no brakes attached! She struggled to move, but lost consciousness again just as her hand fell on top of her wrist control band…

But as the human boy's zooming body approached the black shelf, he fretted. He now realized that he was coming in for a faster 'landing' than he had first calculated!

"Didn't think of _that_, did ya, dude?" the boy chided himself before closing his eyes, frowning and bracing for his inevitable impact into the green boulder just ahead...

….That didn't come! Instead, he felt his body being jolted toward another direction. He squeamishly opened his eyes and gasped in delight that he was safely riding upon….nothing?

But a moment later, when he had moved forward for a little more distance, the 'nothing' finally slowed down and became Valerie's hover-board when it suddenly materialized. It was obvious to the boy at that moment that the board was now out of the range of his 'invisibility' shield, the one that he had programmed to only protect Valerie where she had fallen.

Smiling that this would be an easier fix than his first snafu, he unintentionally spoke to the hover-board, "OK, fella, now its time to take me back to your mega-cool mistress!" He pushed a button on his PDA, and as soon as he did, a holographic facsimile of Valerie's wrist control band thrust out of his little machine. He promptly pushed on its buttons, and the hover-board immediately obeyed him. It turned around and headed right to the floating shelf where Valerie still lay.

As Tucker raced back to the shelf, he didn't know, however, that Valerie had slid back out of consciousness, even as she had been barely able to activate her hover-board just in time for his rescue.

Tucker soared upon the hover-board toward Valerie, anxiously scanning the area for any signs of Bertrand as he drew nearer to his girl. So, far, the shape-shifter wasn't in sight. However, Tucker didn't let his guard down even with that discovery. He hoped that he could get back to Valerie before Bertrand saw either of them. But at this point, he didn't know that Valerie was still unconscious.

Once Tucker and the board arrived just over the shelf, he commanded it to slow. And when it had slowed enough, the boy jumped off. He immediately darted in Valerie's direction.

"Valerie!" he anxiously cried, searching frantically. Why wasn't she answering him? He knew she was here! Just then, he pushed a button on his little computer, deactivating the invisibility program. She reappeared and his heart skipped a beat when he spied her. She wasn't moving! He now sprinted to her still form.

She was face down and when she still didn't move or answer him when he had called to her again, he panicked. Still clutching his PDA, he increased his pace and practically slid to a kneeling stop at her side. He made a quick visual search in the atmosphere again; and not seeing Bertrand at the moment, he placed his PDA down, gently turned her over, and scooped her just as gently into his arms.

She moaned the moment he did that and he sighed a little in relief. But she still had her helmet on and until he could see her face, he would still be worried. He quickly removed the helmet and her hair fell over his arm that was supporting her from behind. He dropped the helmet and that hand immediately reached for and gently caressed her face as he said, "Please be all right, honey!"

Again, Valerie groaned; but she didn't open her eyes. Fretting at her poor response, Tucker quickly searched for any wounds. And just then, Tucker noticed that her right forearm looked odd and the old gash she had gotten from Bertrand when he had attacked her in wolf form had reopened.

He frowned with even more worry. But then, he suddenly gasped when the corner of his right eye caught a glimpse of Bertrand in the near distance! The ghost was quickly homing in on them and he had just morphed into a huge ghost hornet when he had finally spotted them.

Tucker didn't have a moment to lose! Reaching for his PDA, he cradled Valerie close to him and quickly located the desired coordinates. But before he could program alternative coordinates, he heard Bertrand's angry buzz ringing in his ears much nearer to them than he wanted. The boy had no choice but to punch in random coordinates. And just as the ghost bug had shot his gooey substance right at them, intending to capture his prey, Tucker pressed the final button and a small portal opened right next to him and Valerie. Without hesitating, he scooped up Valerie under her head and knees with both of his arms. And without losing grip of either girl or little machine, he pulled Valerie closer to him and plunged right into the portal he had just created, pressing another button as soon as they had entered the portal.

The portal immediately and defiantly closed just as Tucker's boots passed the entry, refusing entry to either goo or ghost.

Bertrand stopped right then and there and yelled, "NOO!" at having another couple escape his wrath!

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Tucker looked around and instantly recognized the place. He cringed with a little anxiety, but more so in embarrassment. He had sent the two of them to the jungle on Skulker's Island! Not that that had been his intention. He would have preferred having created another portal near another shelf near Spectra's lair. But, of course, he hadn't the time to calculate that short jump.

He sighed. Well, at least it was a good location in that it wasn't cold and it had a soft place on which to lay Valerie down. And also, at least, he was familiar with Skulker's island and so already knew the worst he could expect from this place. Hey, it could be worse. He could have ended up in a place he didn't know and be totally lost…

"Okay, dude, don't jinx yourself and your girl with the whole 'it could be worse' speech," he mumbled, chiding himself as he carefully lay Valerie down on the soft grass.

He gently caressed her face again before getting up and looking around her. He then uttered, "DUH!" just before he quickly pushed more buttons, double-checking both programs displayed on a split screen on his PDA to make sure they were in sync with each other. Finally satisfied that they were, he pushed the last command key.

A small portal opened up a couple of yards from him. He waited and what he anticipated should happen next—didn't! Frowning with frustration, he punched the command for Valerie's hover-board to move several times. Finally, the flying machine appeared, and he hurriedly commanded the portal to close once the board had gone completely through. He then pressed the final button in his plan and the hover-board obediently landed and was silent.

The boy smiled in triumph, not knowing in the least that his victorious smile would have been bigger had he known what else he had done—or more precisely—what he had inadvertently done to _Bertrand_…

Bertrand, still in his giant bug form, had, of course, finally tracked to where Valerie had ended up. And he had been thwarted by Tucker in getting at either of them. But then, the ghost bug found the hover-board near where the portal had been. He tried to lift it to bring it back to Spectra's, but it was too heavy for his ghostly bug legs. He growled and quickly returned to his most powerful form—the Frankenstein-like monster form—and picked up the hover-board with ease. But the instant when he did grab it, a small portal appeared out of nowhere and then, Tucker had given the hover-board its first command.

Bertrand, of course, had resisted the board's insistence to obey Tucker and leave. But Tucker had inadvertently, by insisting on commanding it to move through the portal, whacked Bertrand with the hover-board several times. After a few blows, Bertrand could no longer resist and had to involuntarily let go of it. The hover-board dutifully had entered the small portal immediately after that, and had left Bertrand totally KO'd because of it!

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Once Tucker had gotten the hover-board safely there, the boy knew what he had to do next. He quickly pushed some more buttons on his PDA, his green eyes anxiously scanning the display as _it _scanned the environment, rapidly piecing together a facsimile of where they were. A moment later, he was looking down at a map of the surrounding area. And then he saw for what he had scanned. Gulping and smiling weakly in an attempt to encourage himself, he uttered, "It's really not too far! It's just over there! Uh, only a couple hundred feet—with traps included, of course."

He knew he had to be as quiet as possible—and be as _quick_ as possible—if he was to get Valerie some kind of help. He just hoped he could avoid any of Skulker's traps. After all, it wouldn't do them any good if he had gotten them out of the frying pan, only to have gotten them into an even hotter fire should they encounter Skulker or his traps.

But then, the PDA did a shocking thing. As Tucker began to walk in the direction of his destination, it suddenly began to beep. He looked down at it and his eyes widened at the sight. The map was glowing with little red dots interspersed along the pathway. And underneath those little icons, was a message indicated that these dots showed the location of _all_ the traps along the way!

As he approached the first, and then the next designated trap on his PDA, Tucker easily avoided both and couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself, "I should have guessed that Skultech would have made sure that he was safe when he was on his own island! Gee, but I don't know if that should be depressing, then, since he obviously hasn't changed them for _years_—uh, well, at least I _hope_ he hasn't changed them!"

He shrugged it off; and as he approached—and avoided—yet another trap, he reflexively brought his PDA to his lips before saying, "Thank you anyways, baby!" But just as he brought the machine away from his lips, he frowned. And then he smirked to himself, "No, absolutely _nothing_ like Valerie's kisses!"

But he immediately scrunched his face up right away, becoming more somber, "Better get going!"

He took off, studying his map during the whole time. Finally, he sighed in slight relief. He had gotten to the small stream his PDA had located for him in both stealth and safety. He wasted no time as he quickly shoved his PDA into his pants pocket and pulled off his jacket. Then, he pulled his shirt off and hurriedly threw his jacket back on. Ripping pieces from his shirt, he dunked several pieces into the stream and then retraced his steps.

He was back at Valerie's side in no time now that he knew how to avoid any traps in the path back to her. He quickly squeezed the water from some of the makeshift bandages to clean Valerie's reopened wound and then to gently wipe her face.

She finally began to stir when the cool water caressed her face. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she groaned and instantly reached for her painful right arm.

"Take it easy there, honey, I think it's broken. And the gash on it has reopened. But don't worry, I'm here!" Tucker quietly assured her, as he continued to tend to her wounds.

Suddenly, now that Valerie's head and vision were a little clearer, her eyes frantically darted to the left and then to the right. She shouted with dread, "Where are we? What happened? Did we beat that ghost? And is Danny OK?" But then, she winced in pain. Her head pounded with each uttered word.

Though Tucker was still incredibly worried about his best friend, Valerie needed his attention just as badly right now. After all, even though the battle wasn't yet over at Spectra's, a team member had fallen. He knew that Danny would understand the delay. In fact, he was certain his best friend would probably be doing this exact same thing right now, too. And then, he thought, even Sam would. He jolted a little with that now unquestionable thought. Sam! It no longer was a vague hunch. _She was in trouble, too! ..And she was at Spectra's, too!_ He frowned. How did he know that?

He shook his head, thinking that all the stress was getting to him. Still, even if Sam were there with Danny, helping her would also have to wait until Valerie had recuperated enough for them to return to Spectra's lair. Nevertheless, in spite of all his worries, he found himself thinking of any plan he could use against Bertrand and Spectra when they could get back.

He had just finished wrapping dry strips of his shirt over Valerie's gash and was beginning to place a makeshift sling around her right arm when he finally answered her, in the order of her questions, "Short version of a long story: We had to escape to Skulker's Island because you got hurt pretty badly; we didn't beat Bertrand yet; and I still don't know what's happening with Danny. And I'm certain that Sam's there, too, with Danny."

Valerie frowned in confusion. Maybe her spinning head hadn't heard him right. How did he know that Sam was _definitely_ there? He hadn't been there, had he? But she didn't comment on that right now. Her head was pounding too much.

After he finished securing the support for her right arm, Valerie began to get up.

"Are you sure you're all right, Valerie?" Tucker asked with worry, supporting her as she moved.

"I have to be, Tucker! We have to get back there and help our friends!" she anxiously insisted, grabbing his hand with her good left arm.

As he helped her to a full stand, he looked at her in bewilderment. "Friends?" he echoed, wondering why she had said the plural form of the word.

She stumbled a little and he steadied her. She smiled weakly and replied, "You did say you had a very strong feeling that Sam was there and in danger, too, remember? And, I know this sounds weird, but, somehow, since you've all been best friends and worked as a team for like, forever, I think you all must have some kind of 'sixth sense' to know if the others were in trouble or not! Besides, I'm still worried about Sarah and Derek!"

He smiled weakly at her comment and replied, "Oh, yeah. I knew that!" He then thought about what she said about Sam once more. Maybe she was right! He couldn't explain these 'gut feelings' he had been having lately when it came to his friends…

But, actually, he didn't know that she was only partially right. The three best friends _were_ developing a sort of 'sixth sense' about each other. But that had only happened _just recently_. And the potential for that ability developing had been stronger in Danny and Sam. Especially Sam. But now, Tucker was developing a stronger link with them, too. But he didn't know that yet. And it was all because of the fact that they all had absorbed a lot of Spectre energy in their last adventure.

But Tucker's connection with his best friends was different—and slower to develop—because he hadn't absorbed the exact same kind of energy as they had. Both Danny and Sam had directly received Jiva's own Spectre energy taken right from that very powerful shadow ghost herself. Especially Sam. Therefore, they had absorbed the purest form of the shadow ghost's unique powers—strengthened by the Spectre Amulet of Ombre, in spite of its being broken.

Tucker, on the other hand, had absorbed Spectral energy issued forth from Bhuto when that shadow ghost had attacked and almost killed the teen. Bhuto's ray had been enhanced not directly by Jiva's powers when the male Spectre had shot Tucker, but only by the _broken Amulet's_ powers at Jiva's bidding. So, therefore, the Spectre energy that Tucker had absorbed, though powerful, was not quite the same kind of energy that both Danny and Sam received. Even still, that didn't mean that it was impossible for the threesome to develop a very unique—and 'sixth sense'-like—bond, and maybe more.

The most amazing thing about it all, however, was what all three best friends still didn't know yet. And that was that, in the end, _all_ of Jiva's powers, enhanced by the power of the Amulet, had melded into Sam's own genetic make-up. That would explain why the color of Sam's energy was fuscia in color as well. It was the combination of human genes and ghostly energy melded from the color of Sam's amethyst eyes and Jiva's own ghostly red ones. And because shadow ghosts had never been human, that power was especially potent. And Sam was just beginning to develop those powers in her own distinct way…

Valerie's sudden groan and her partial stumble jolted Tucker out of his thoughts. Firmly, yet gently, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he broke her fall, and steadied her once more.

"Are you sure you're all right, Valerie?" he asked again, not letting go of his support and looking at her in uncertainty and even doubt about her condition. "And, uhm, I kinda left your helmet on that black shelf."

When he turned to look at her, he jolted a little. Her eyes had that very familiar look in them—the one when she was trying to hide something from him. But he could now tell that they were also different. They weren't anxiously evasive or insincere. She was trying to be brave….

Valerie knew he wouldn't let her travel unless she could convince him that she was OK. She turned to him and startled a little when she saw his eyes….and she suddenly realized that they had the same expression in them whenever she had changed out of her 'Red Huntress' outfit all those times, before she had told him who she was…

Still, she was determined, and putting on a firm face in order to assure him, replied, "Yes, Tucker, I'm fine. We have to get going!" Then lifting her left arm and flexing it to 'prove' her point, she added, "I still have one good arm and you can control the hover-board just as well as me. And you can help me with activating and steadying the weapons. So, then, I think, together, we will make an unbeatable team, don't you?"

But before he could answer her, she had cupped his jaw with her uninjured hand and pulled him closer until she had captured his lips with hers.

When they parted a moment later, she softly said, "That's for helping me just now. But now, I think we need to put your PDA to work and get back, don't you?"

He smiled when she said that and replied, "I love you!"

"And I love you, too!" she beamed, ignoring the pain still shooting in her right arm and through her head.

He helped her over to a large rock for her to lean against until he could complete his task of programming his PDA.

As he worked, she watched him with admiration. He had gotten them out of a bad situation. And he was not only very smart with all that techno stuff, but he certainly was a top-notch first-aider. And quite a guy.

Tucker quickly aligned the complete—and correct—set of GZ-GPS coordinates. But as he pressed the key after having decided on where to take them, he glanced over at the still hurt Valerie and secretly hoped that his decision placed them _very_ far from Bertrand.

Just before he gave it the last command to open the portal, he walked over to her and asked, "Ready?"

"You bet!" she said with determination, putting on that same brave face.

He half-smiled and replied, "OK, just a sec."

He pushed another button and the holographic image of her control wrist band shot out from his little machine. He quickly commanded the hover-board. It slowly lifted up off the ground and floated over toward the couple. Tucker jumped onto it even as it moved and then pressing the foot controls, made it hover in place. This time, he extended his hand to her in order to help her onto the board. But as he reached for her, an impartial observer might think that it was not unlike a knight extending his hand for his lady.

With Valerie now clinging to him with her left arm, Tucker pressed the final command on his PDA. A portal instantly opened, and they soared back to Spectra's lair.


	55. Chapter 55 The Answer

**A/N: Well, how are y'all? Hope you're ready for this chapter, 'cause it's full of twist and turns... And it happens to be my second personal and ultimately fav chapter (dead tie with chappie 52). And, my, you can see, it's the longest chappie I've ever written for any of my stories! Well, I just have lots to say, that's all! In any case, here's that 'IDNOA' thing, except that I DO own the ghost animals. So, here is Chapter 55. Enjoy! **

TrueHeart—Chapter 55—The Answer

Tucker privately fretted as he and Valerie, still upon the hover-board, exited the portal. He, of course, didn't know where Bertrand was and even though he could see through her bravado, he knew that Valerie was in no condition to fight. He had purposely not placed the portal right in the vicinity of where they had escaped the Ghost Zone to give him time to scope out the area—and to give Valerie more time to recover.

As they flew onward, he found he had some time to think. He thought about Valerie's little act back at Skulker's Island, the one where she had tried to convince him to come back here. This time, however, he didn't chide himself for not calling her on her little ruse. She had kinda distracted him when he had questioned her…and he had let her…..Besides, he had a feeling that she really wasn't lying in that instance—and he wasn't rationalizing it, either. They both truthfully wanted to get back here as soon as possible; and really, where they had accidentally ended up in their initial escape from Bertrand was not any better—and might actually have been a lot worse—than coming back here. At least, all the traps here were for the most part, obvious! Still, he knew that they would have to be more honest with each other from now…it _was_ the best policy…He cringed a little on that last thought—did he just think that? But then, he had the immediate feeling that this would not only happen, but it would be the focus of their relationship from now on…

Valerie suddenly pulled him from his thoughts.

"Uh, thanks, Tucker," she quietly said next to his ear to make sure he heard her.

"Uh, what for, Valerie?" he asked, turning his head slightly so to make sure she heard him. Why was she bringing up the fact that he had temporarily patched her up again?

"Uhm, for ignoring me," she said, cringing when that really wasn't the word she wanted to use.

"What?" he immediately objected. "I would never do that—well, I mean, not any more!"

She chuckled nervously at his response. "Well, that's not exactly the kind of 'ignoring' I meant. I'm talking about the fact that we came back here even though I kinda lied that I was well enough to go. And I think you sorta knew that."

He half-smiled. Looks like they were now on their way to being more honest after all! "Yeah, I did. But I also knew you wanted to get back here to help our friends…and really, so did I!"

"But then, why didn't you _say_ something, Tucker?" she asked before adding, "And don't tell me you were just trying to please me back there! Really, Tucker, we're going to have to be more honest with each other if we're going to be in this relationship together!" She cringed at that last part. That was lame!

Tucker did chuckle a little on how odd that last part came out, but he knew what she meant. "You know, Valerie, looks like I'm rubbing off on you! But, seriously, I think you're right about that 'honesty' part. I was thinking that exact same thing just a couple of minutes ago!"

"Really?" she asked, unconsciously squeezing his waist with her left arm when she did.

He smiled and softly replied, "Really."

She hugged him again on purpose this time and whispered to his ear, "I'd like that!"

"Me, too," he quietly said before gasping, "Oh, man!"

"What's wrong?" she began, placing her left hand on his shoulder for support; and then looked over it. But then, she saw the same thing he did.

They were rapidly nearing the same shelf into which Valerie had earlier plowed. And they could see Bertrand, who was still in his 'Frankenstein-like' form was just rousing from his encounter with Valerie's hover-board. He wobbled to a stand moments later and then jolted to high alert when he saw the human couple headed right to him! And by the time Tucker and Valerie had closed the gap between them, the huge shape-shifter's ghostly breathing was heaving in angry pants.

Not questioning why Bertrand was still at the same shelf from which they had escaped in the first place, Tucker yelled to his girl, "OK, Valerie, hang on tight! It's time for 'Plan 'B''!"

She immediately clung around his waist with her left arm and pressed closer to him before yelling back, "What's that?"

"You'll see—kinda!" he quickly replied with a slight cringe, but at his next heartbeat pushed the last command on his PDA.

The couple and hover-board instantly disappeared!

Valerie looked at Tucker just after he said that and gasped when she could see right _through_ him! "W-What did you do, Tucker?" she stammered.

"Gave us a little advantage, complements of this mighty fine PDA! Now, I think Bertrand's is way 'old news', and it's time to turn the page, don't you think?"

He pushed down on his foot and the hover-board increased in speed.

Valerie gasped when she could clearly see—since she could see right _through_ Tucker—that they were headed _right to_ Bertrand! Her instincts wanted to object, but her heart fully trusted him. With widened eyes, she hung on tighter as she continued to watch right through Tucker as he kept keying commands into his wondrous little machine.

Tucker was quickly finished, but was suddenly unsure. This was too quick of a plan. Also, he had never tried to tie in this many programs at once and then expect them to execute so precisely. But right now, he had to chance it. It was better than taking the chance that Valerie would have to be in the midst of this fight.

"OK, Valerie, can you reach that vial?" he hurriedly asked.

"You mean Danny's stuff?"

"No, that other one. We have to be ready!" he replied.

Leaning her left shoulder on his back for support, she groped madly into the pouch that was still around her waist—the pouch they had recovered at Bertrand's lair and had filled vials of Danny's pheromones and the one Valerie had added. She sighed in relief when she pulled out the right one on the first try, and she knew it was the right one because it was the only one in the pouch _not_ glowing. Finally, she said, "Ready!"

"OK, on my cue, be ready to throw it right at Bertrand, OK?" he asked as Bertrand seemed to grow incredibly bigger as they came dangerously closer to him.

"OK!" she agreed, swallowing hard when she suddenly realized just _how huge_ this form of Bertrand was.

But then, Tucker pushed the last coordinating command on his button and he prayed that it would work.

Suddenly, Bertrand screamed as that large bright white light emanating from Tucker's PDA hit him so closely and out of no where. He covered his eyes with one hand, and knowing that it was that bratty techno kid who had caught him by surprise again, lashed outward in rage with the other.

The force of his arm's swiping at his attacker pushed a huge wake of ghostly air at the incoming teens. The hover-board easily maneuvered over it. Tucker and Valerie knew they needn't actually feel the _real _sensation of 'hanging ten' at the beach after what they just felt.

Still, Tucker had, of course, anticipated some kind of reaction by Bertrand. He was just glad it wasn't with that wicked spear-thingy. But the boy couldn't have known that Bertrand still wasn't thinking clearly enough, since he hadn't fully recovered from being assaulted by the hover-board.

In the next instant, however, the second part of Tucker's plan kicked in. The hover-board suddenly lost power and as it came almost to an abrupt halt, the next command was executed. The hover-board dutifully swung away and to the left of Bertrand, its front stationary and its _tail _now leading the arc of pivot away from the enraged shape-shifter.

Valerie clung harder to Tucker at the momentum and bit down her painful yell when her still bandaged and injured right arm slammed into her boyfriend's back.

But then, the hover-board successfully completed its turn and now the human couple, though still invisible, was now _very_ close to—and facing—the back of Bertrand.

Knowing he needed to tell Valerie this next part, Tucker dared to chance Bertrand's hearing him say to Valerie, "OK, honey, this is going to be very tricky. Just think about all those wild rides we love at all those carnivals!...Hang on tight and throw the vial at him—now!"

And when he had said this, several things happened in very quick order: Bertrand _did _hear Tucker and yelled in rage and began to turn to the couple who he knew was very close by, but somehow invisible, this time producing and then readying that dreaded spear-thingy at the same time…The vial smashed into Bertrand, splattering its contents all over him…Bertrand dropped his weapon and screeched as the contents of the vial sprayed him…And, finally, the shape-shifter was captured in a large ghost net that had spewed forth out of Tucker's PDA.

Once Tucker knew that Bertrand was secured in the net, he hurriedly but gently pulled Valerie's left arm around his waist more and warned her, "Brace yourself, Valerie. This part's going to be _very_ wild!"

He then also braced himself for the next part in his plan to happen. He fretted a bit when he thought the delay was a bit long. He was about to manually push the next command when he yelled slightly in surprise when the command was finally executed. He quickly regained his balance as the hover-board shot violently and rapidly _backward_, yanking the netted and struggling Bertrand within it as Tucker held his PDA firmly in both of his hands.

Tucker scanned the atmosphere as the hover-board continued to build momentum, still flying backward as it did. He bit his lower lip and reflexively slid one of his hands down to Valerie's who still had it wrapped around his waist, and squeezed. He hoped he had estimated it right. In the next instant, the next-to-the-last command that was first inputted along with that long chain of commands commenced. The hover-board jerked into another hard sideward arc and abruptly halted at the same time, much as a motorcycle skidding sideways into a stop would.

Tucker instantly let go of Valerie's hand. He leaned his body slightly backward; and while anchoring his elbows to his sides, grasped his PDA firmly with both hands and prayed.

Just as he felt the hard tug, he pushed the key to the last command. He slightly frowned at the slight delay in its commencing. But in the next moment, the net snapped away from the PDA and he and Valerie watched as the net—still containing Bertrand—slung away from them and headed right to the floating shelf right next to Spectra's lair.

Tucker sighed slightly in both relief and triumph. His plan had worked! He had used the hover-board as a giant sling shot to catapult Bertrand away from them, just as he had used Bertrand as one earlier when he needed to reach Valerie!

Still invisible, the two teens watched in silence as they heard the bundle of Bertrand crash right into another large boulder on a floating shelf right next to Spectra's lair. He slid down the purple rock, and remained motionless at its base.

But Tucker knew it wasn't over yet. There was still Spectra to contend with and they had to make sure that Bertrand was out of commission. "OK, here we go!" he said to Valerie as he pushed his foot to the accelerator of the hover-board.

Still essentially chasing Bertrand, he added, "OK, Valerie, can you put your left arm on my shoulder again? And make sure it's straight."

"Sure," she replied as she obeyed him.

Tucker then said, "But first, I'm going to have to make us visible again. My PDA is running a little slower than it should. Turning off the invisibility program should give it more power, OK?"

"OK," Valerie quietly agreed, just before Tucker deactivated the invisibility program.

And just as they became visible once more, Tucker pushed another button on his PDA and that holographic control wrist band popped up again. He quickly pounded on that, and a weapon eked out of Valerie's left arm. He pushed a few more buttons glancing intermittently to watch where they were going. Just as they were nearing the floating shelf, he instructed her, "I'll be able to make the gun fire, but you're going have to aim it, OK?"

"OK, honey," she said with a weak smile, readying herself.

Tucker pushed the button under his foot and the hover-board slowed just enough for them to get a clear shot of Bertrand. But just then, the door to Spectra's lair burst open!

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"NOOOOO!" Derek roared when he saw his wife's tiny body absorb the terrible and powerful beam, and then a moment later, ricocheted off from its impact. Her smoking and now ragged body ended up in a crumbled heap a few feet from the impact site and behind some large boxes.

Immediately after that, the lynx, with angry tears, pounced upon Spectra, lashing at her with his grief-stricken claws.

Spectra, however, was able to block his strikes with her energy orbs, but the wildcat didn't give her any slack and continued in his attack.

Meanwhile, as they fought on, the glowing pheromones had reached their intended target: Danny. He moaned slightly as his once-stolen ghostly substance penetrated him; but then, he felt his strength rapidly returning. His head still down, he opened his eyes and his vision came into sharper focus.

It was then that he heard the commotion very close to him and looked upward at the wildcat's struggle with Spectra. The boy startled at the sight, and still not feeling fully recuperated, was about to will his healing powers when he finally saw Sam! She was still unconscious and his heart tightened with fear when he saw her wounds. Still, he knew the bigger danger right now was the two fighting ghosts.

He was then quickly enveloped within the bright blue aura of his healing powers, which, in the next moment, combined with the last shimmering vapors of the deep purple pheromones, surged into Danny like a tidal wave, and jolted him to nearly full strength. His entire body was then encased within a bright green aura; and as it burst outward, he yanked on the clamps around his wrists and ankles. They instantly gave way and were destroyed.

The energized teen soared over to the other battling ghosts, and he looked for an opening in which to strike Spectra. He frowned in frustration when, at first, he didn't seemed to have a chance of that. Still wanting to help the lynx, he hovered around the tight mass of fighting ghosts, his energy orbs charged and ready to fire should the opportunity present itself.

But then, the female Spectre had had enough. She would not be outdone by what she felt was a lesser being of a ghost. She should not have let this insignificant ghost animal get this far with her. With an incensed scream, she shoved the lynx off and instantly followed that up with jolting him with a wicked electrical bolt of her purple energy.

The lynx yelled at the sting, but before he had a chance to counterattack, Danny soared right between him and the shadow ghost. The half-ghost immediately blasted Spectra and the blow pummeled her into the opposite wall and she fell hard to the floor.

Furious that now she had _him_ to contend with, Spectra gritted her teeth and quickly morphed into her shadow form. She shrieked in hatred as she shot back at the Ghost Boy with angry violet rays emanating from both of her hands.

Danny instantly threw up a green ectoplasmic shield which refracted the blows, keeping him from harm. Much to his chagrin, however, he could see through his green shield that the wild rays charged right at Sam! He gasped in horror! But then, instead of striking his girl, they blasted the wall right next to her. Upset with the narrow miss, the young hybrid knew that he had to take the fight outside. But how?

Before he could think of a plan, however, the lynx bounded right over Danny's shield and lunged at the shadow ghost once more.

But Spectra saw him and was ready. She thrust a more powerful beam at her attacker. The wildcat was able to avoid her attempt this time, and successfully pounced on her. But he gasped in bewilderment when his claws met empty holes that the female Spectre had willed in her shadow form at every one of his strikes. Taking advantage of his confusion, Spectra charged two energy orbs with both of her hands, and growling in hatred, shot the cat off of her once again.

The lynx groaned in pain as he plowed into the floor and slid across the room until he landed right in front of Sam's feet. He tried to fight his spinning head and stumbled to his feet. But then he jerked his head back when his eyes had inadvertently spied a small vial just behind a nearby box. He flew in an unbalanced flight to it and gasped, recognizing it at once.

It was the vial containing the 'weapon' he and his wife had planned to use against the shadow ghost and her assistant. He immediately concluded that Sarah must have brought it here at sometime; and by the look of it, now that it was cracked, it must have fallen from her grasp and rolled to this area, hidden from view by the box. And by some miracle, though the vial looked brittle, it was still intact enough to belie its contents from escaping.

Meanwhile, Danny shot an ice beam at Spectra right after she had shot Derek. But, she bolted upward and just missed that attempt.

Laughing wickedly that she had escaped the half-ghost's ice ray, she jeered, "Maybe you need more of those pheromones from the looks on how slow your reflexes are, little freak! You obviously haven't fully recovered! You'll have to do better than that!" She ended her taunt with a purple blast right at him.

But Danny was able to twist his body at the last second, avoiding her attempt as deftly as she had his; and not giving her the satisfaction of an answer, he cried defiantly as he shot another ice ray at her. This time, a small portion of it made contact and she screamed with its cold sting.

But she was as determined not to give him the satisfaction of thinking he was getting even an inch of an upper hand. "You know, Danny, you can't have your cake and eat it, too! Let's see if you can fight me and protect your little girlfriend at the same time!" she scoffed.

At first, she ended her threat with a blast of two enlarging purple ectoplasmic beams from both of her hands, aiming both of them right at Danny.

The ghost hybrid answered that with his own green rays from both of his hands and the combined green beams collided with her combined lavender rays, the rays splaying outward at their impact site, the green and purple flames meeting an imaginary fire-proof shield in the middle of them.

Suddenly, the teen had a hunch on what she was planning. Still, it now worried him that the evil ghost had been right about his not having his full strength back as he struggled to counter her blows. And from how he was feeling right now, he knew he wouldn't have the strength both to resist her efforts and duplicate his form to effectively protect Sam.

Then, like a soccer goalie having to anticipate moves in a penalty shoot-out during a tied competition game, Danny quickly searched his mind for possible countermoves. He grunted under Spectra's surging force, feeling her hatred fuel her power. No matter how much he resisted, he was tiring with the effort. Even when he had a lot of his ghostly pheromones restored and had used his healing power, he still had so much of his ghostly pheromones taken from him already. But he knew he had rebounded enough; and he was determined not to have her win this dangerous game.

In the next instant, however, Spectra sneered with delight after glancing at Sam, who was to her left. She arched not her left hand, but her right one, and shot a deadly ray right over the remnants of her purple and Danny's green fighting streams of energy. That beam headed right toward Sam, and Danny gasped with dread. He did not expect the ghost to act so soon or attempt to attack Sam with a beam from her further hand, especially when Sam was so far from the shadow ghost. But even if he had wanted to stop her, he knew he was in a too compromised position to do anything but to watch on in horror.

But in the meantime, Derek had finally recovered enough and was waiting for an opening to attack the shadow ghost with the concoction in the vial. When he heard Spectra's threat to the human girl, he looked more desperately for a way to intervene between Danny and Spectra. He had to stop that evil ghost!

But then, the shadow ghost let loose a most certainly lethal ray toward the hapless Sam. Derek gasped in dread; and not wanting to see the defenseless girl harmed, reflexively reacted. He dropped the vial and dove right in front of the human girl, colliding with the ray and taking the full brunt of its wicked power. He yelped in agony as his side rent open, and his body rammed the nearby wall, but he was nevertheless relieved that he had kept the girl from harm. He struggled to get back up, anxious that the evil shadow ghost would make a second attempt on Sam's life.

Danny gasped when he saw what the lynx did. And as the lynx crawled in front of his girl, hoping to still protect her, Danny, now livid with the female Spectre, poured on more of his power.

Spectra answered the ghost hybrid with her own terrible power, just as set on finally ridding herself of this pest and anyone else who dare oppose her.

It seemed that Spectra, who had been fueled in the first place by Danny's powerful pheromones, would win in this round as she gritted her teeth and poured on more power. She could see that the hybrid was tiring and he was beginning to yield. Just as he was forced to fight her on bended knee, his arms shaking and his jaw clenched and his eyes momentarily scrunched together with the effort, she thought this was the perfect time. She would make sure that her next move would be the final straw to him—and to Sam.

In the next instant, she threw another deadly beam toward Sam.

What Spectra soon found out, however, was that just because Danny was beginning to succumb physically didn't mean he was mentally spent. He had felt the change in her energy as she pulled partially away from him. He reacted instantly and shot open his eyes just before shooting out an ice beam from them, which created an ice shield right in front of Sam this time.

And it was not a moment too soon. The ice shield dutifully absorbed Spectra's purple beam and disintegrated on impact. But, it had done its job and protected his girl and the lynx still in front of her from any harm.

But the effort had cost the young hybrid a lot of his energy. His head began to spin and he couldn't keep himself from panting heavily from the strain of having to still counter Spectra's assault. He knew he would not be able to go another round in this odd duel the way he was feeling, but his tenacity would not let him give up. He couldn't. He dug deeper into his inner being and feeling some of his strength surge, gritted his teeth in determination. He pushed harder back at the shadow ghost.

In the meantime, Derek had tried to get up again. But the more the lynx moved, the more he felt his strength leak out as surely as his ectoplasm from his ghostly body. He knew that it would be soon before his strength was completely spent. He looked to the human girl, and then to Danny and Spectra. He gasped when it looked like he and the girl were going to be attacked again. He struggled to pull himself up in front of Sam, but just before he could, an ice shield had appeared and then shattered, spilling ice shards at him. But, fortunately, all of them had been too tiny to have caused any harm to him.

He sighed, momentarily relieved. At that moment, he could see that Danny was keeping the evil ghost from trying to hurt the human girl. Now driven to do what he could to help with whatever strength he had left, Derek reached for the vial. He grabbed it with his jaws and with earnest effort, jerked it hard, throwing the vial toward Spectra. He forced himself to watch its trajectory. The vial tumbled wildly in the air, but its path was true and as it fell, it lined itself with Danny and Spectra's dueling energy stream. But now that Danny had resurged in grit and determination, its momentum was toward the female Spectre, not Danny. Just as it entered the path of the energy beam closest to Spectra, its glass shattered from the force; and with the help of Danny's energy beam, drove its contents toward the female ghost.

Penelope Spectra screamed at the attack, feeling its effects instantly. She felt herself grow feeble as the full-strength aging potion sapped her of her youth and strength. Not a moment later, and her energy beam extinguished, leaving a hideous and ancient shadow ghost panting with her fatigue.

Danny immediately soared over to her, but she shot at him with the last of her last ectoplasmic energy, using it as a ways for escape. She then darted upward through the trap door.

Danny yelled as the purple beam hit his shoulder, but he let Spectra go. He was more worried about getting his girl and friends to safety. Ignoring the throb in his injured shoulder, he flew anxiously to Sam. His heart leapt in a little relief when he heard her moan; she was finally stirring from her ordeal. He melted her bonds with a precise blast of his ectoplasmic energy and caught her limp body before it could collapse to the floor.

Gently scooping her up so that he was supporting her under her shoulders and her knees, and as her head fell to her chest, he quickly closed his eyes and willed his healing power. An instant later, both of them were blanketed in his bright blue energy. His shoulder rapidly healed; he felt more of his strength return; and his girl began to open her eyes.

"Sam! Are you all right, honey?" Danny worriedly asked his girl, his eyes apprehensively searching for her answer.

Thinking she was hearing her boyfriend's voice for some reason, Sam lifted her still slightly spinning head and the first thing she saw was a set of glowing green eyes looking anxiously at her. However, she didn't startle. Her next heartbeat had told her that it was Danny. Before he could say anything, however, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tender, affectionate kiss.

"Are you all right, Sam?" he finally repeated when they parted.

"Yes, I am, darling!" she said with a hush.

He smiled at her remark, but then said, "I'm so glad Spectra didn't hurt you that badly, honey. But do you think you can stand? We have to help Sarah and Derek!"

When she heard the shadow ghost's name, the girl's memory finally came into sharp focus. She gasped and Danny wasn't quite ready for her barrage, "Spectra? Where is she? And are _you_ OK? What happened? The last thing I remember…" She paused at finally comprehending his last comment, "…And _who are_ Sarah and Derek?"

Silently smiling that he now had his _real_ Sam here, but also knowing that they really didn't have that much time, he quickly said, "That's the names of the ghost animals! Somehow, they found us and helped us, but they got hurt."

"Oh, no!" she fretted as she pulled herself out of Danny's arms and stood up. Then, she frowned in confusion as she added, "How do you know what their names are? And they tried to _help_ us? How could they do that? And why did they do that? Poor things! Where are they?"

But instead of answering her questions, Danny commanded, "C'mon! I'll explain everything later! We have to help them now!"

The young couple quickly scanned the room and didn't see the animals at first. Danny called their names, but they didn't answer. He frowned in frustration, but knew that they had to still be somewhere in here. He grabbed Sam by her waist and lifted them both upwards. This time, they caught a glimpse of a barely glowing black form that had been hidden by a large box. Danny soared downward and gently released Sam just before he anxiously pulled the boxes away.

Both he and Sam gasped at the sight. Stunned by what they saw, they reflexively reached for each other in an anxious embrace.

The black form they had seen was the lynx. He had just gotten there himself, having made himself crawl to his wounded wife once he felt that Sam was safe and the evil Spectra had been vanquished. He was gently nuzzling his wife's head when Danny and Sam got there and the human couple swallowed hard when they could see ghostly tears streaming from the wildcat's eyes. He looked up momentarily when he heard the young couple gasp, but he turned back to his wife right afterward. He was happy that the human couple was safe, of course, but he was now more concerned about his wife.

The teen couple stood by, fretful, but uncertain at the moment on what to do, especially when both of the animals were now lying in a fairly large pool of their ectoplasm. Then they heard Derek ask his wife, "Why, Sarah? Why did you not save yourself from that evil ghost?"

Sarah looked up at him, ignoring the pain she felt with even the tiniest of movement. She softly murmured, "You very well know the answer to that, my love. After all the suffering we had caused Sir Danny and his lady Sam in trying to tear them apart, I could not let our friends be sacrificed by the evil we had brought upon them. I had made a vow not to let more harm come to them while I still existed. If I had not acted, Sir Danny would have surely perished."

Danny and Sam's eyes widened at her words, but they remained silently clutching each other tightly.

This time, Derek closed his eyes when he felt a jolt of pain rivet him. And he swallowed hard with the sudden woe he felt—and with the truth. But he finally said with sadness, "Yes, I know you, Wife, and you know me. After all the wrongs we had done, I could not allow any further harm to them, either..."

But then, his voice, though still saddened, lightened a little as he continued, "Still, I want you to know that you were right about everything, my love. I now have hope again. Hope that all will be well. And I know now that we cannot fully exist unless we hope. Unless we love and unless we trust, no matter what bad things are around us, or how hopeless everything seems. But more than that, that we must act upon those virtues, or else all our hope and honor would have been in vain. And I thank you for being committed to that, for being committed to me and true to our vows through it all. You have brought me honor beyond what I can express. And because of your love, because of your bravery, I have not regretted all I…_we_…have done to remedy our wrongs to these two young humans."

Sarah harshly whispered, "You have also brought me honor, Husband. And it was only through your own bravery and love that I could go beyond my strength. I, too, thank you for that." She paused a moment in pain before managing a weak smile and continuing, "And, I, too, feel more hope now than I have ever felt in all our desperate years of woe! It is very strange indeed! And I cannot explain it! I suddenly feel so very merry!"

Looking at her wounds and still letting his tears flow, Derek replied, "But you are so hurt, Sarah! How can you feel that way? Still, I feel I must ask you if there is something I can do to ease your pain?"

Seeing his own wounds, she loving answered, "I could ask the same of you, Husband."

Danny now felt he couldn't keep silent. Pulling a little away from Sam and stepping forward, he gently interrupted them. "Maybe I can help? My healing powers once helped Sarah. Maybe I could use them again?"

The young hybrid was surprised when he heard Sarah's weak laugh as she replied, "No. Do not worry. There is nothing more that you can do. You have already helped us!"

But Danny shook his head. "No, I still need to try, Sarah! I can't just let… I'm going to try," he said in determination. And before Sarah could say any more, Danny put his hands gently against her and let them glow blue. He's eyebrows creased as he strained to heal the black dove. But after a few seconds, he began to see no change.

"No…," he whispered in despair; before trying again, while Sam looked on, even more distraught.

"Sir, Danny, please," Sarah said, at seeing the boy on the verge of tears. "Do not waste what little energy you have left on the impossible. I appreciate your effort. But there are some injuries not even your remarkable powers can heal. It is fine. Please. As I said, you have already helped us enough!"

Reluctantly removing his hands from her, Danny and Sam frowned, feeling both anguished and confused by all that was happening—yet somehow knowing that there was nothing they could do for the injured ghost animals. Sam reached for Danny and pulled him closer once more. And with all the anguish they were both feeling, they both felt the need not to let go of the other any more.

But Derek then suddenly said, "Yes! And, strangely, now I understand! Sarah is right! You have helped us!"

"B-But how?" Sam stammered, glancing in confusion at the ghost animals and then at her boyfriend, searching for the answer.

Danny, however, was just much at a loss as Sam was. He shook his head and slightly shrugged in reply.

"You have given us peace!" Sarah insisted, before groaning in pain.

"We have?" Danny and Sam uttered in union, still fighting their dread when they saw in how much pain the dove was, and how the pool of their ectoplasm was spreading.

"Yes," Derek murmured in thought, looking into his wife's eyes. And then, somehow, he knew that she was thinking of what he was thinking, and felt the same as he. Smiling weakly at that realization, and speaking for the both of them, then, he turned back to the teens and continued, "And we thank you for your guidance. You have made us realized by your own selfless actions that time has not eroded the best of what humans can be. We thought we were alone in feeling strongly about honor, about commitment, and about the suffering that may come while remaining true to those, among other, virtues. You reached out to us, even when we did wrong, and we knew we were no longer alone….."

"We are also content to know that love still thrives in this turbulent world and that there are young people who still understand what kind of sacrifice they must commit to in order to protect their love, yet not afraid to let it grow with any pain which they might have to endure for the sake of their making that love endure. We thank you for that hope and for that peace."

Danny and Sam swallowed hard and hugged each other tighter, understanding that they were sharing the same emotional turmoil on what was happening—and at what he had said. And they were having a hard time controlling the mounting dread that was beginning to engulf them as they could clearly sense just how much pain the two animals were now in as they struggled to tell them what they felt they needed to tell…

Derek pulled slightly closer to his wife, and ignoring the agony and the weakness that was growing within him, gently wrapping his paw around her. He then glanced lovingly at her, even though he could feel her weakening within his embrace. He then turned to Danny and Sam and said, "Thank you, again, for the answer."

Before either Danny or Sam could reply, Sarah weakly added, "Yes. We will be forever indebted to you. You have given us a hopeful gift. We are with each other even in the end and for that, I am content."

The young humans could feel their own tears now press upon them as they silently listened. The enchanted pair's words had captured their own hearts; and then, oddly, they felt strength from them. And, somehow, even in the midst of their confusion, they had the very same odd sense of understanding. Still, they were bewildered on how they could have taught this enchanted couple anything. If anything, once they finally understood Derek and Sarah's words, and remembered all that had happened to them, Danny and Sam realized that it was _they_ who had really learned something from the ghost couple instead. And though the teens were in sorrow in witnessing the enchanted pair's tender scene, they were all of the sudden aware of even stranger and unexpected feelings. They couldn't explain how they couldn't help feeling thankful for having known the ghost couple, or for all that the ghosts had done for them.

Danny and Sam were pulled from their thoughts when Derek began to speak again. But this time, the human couple gasped on how weak the wildcat sounded and how painful it so obviously was now for him to continue. He barely whispered a reply to his wife, "Yes, you are right once more, Beloved! The time will be here soon enough. We have finally been given the insight on what we had failed to do in all our years of endless misery. And, yet, we were shown mercy, and the key was these two remarkable young humans. Their pain when we had torn them apart became our pain and our burden to amend. They were the key for undoing the spell! We will be free from it at last! And now, I can let you go and yet have hope. For once in these many years of sorrow, I, too, am in peace."

And no sooner had he said that then he laid his head next to his wife's, gently touching it as he did.

Sarah sighed and hoarsely whispered back, "Yes, Beloved: peace."

Not a heartbeat later, and the young ghost animals forever closed their eyes, their bodies suddenly flattening against the floor until black melded with the green pool….

Sam buried her face in Danny's shoulder and the boy stared in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.

"No!" he murmured in grief, feeling a choking lump in his throat.

He pulled his girl closer to him; and he could feel Sam's softly whimpering tears already pressing through his shirt and onto his skin.

Suddenly, he gasped at what happened next and Sam pulled away from him, blinking her tears away as she did. They looked back at the silent ghost animals and gasped again, mesmerized by the sight.

Their limp ghostly bodies began to float upward by an unforeseen force and each of the animals was just as sudden surrounded by a bright white aura. The two white auras expanded and then merged into each of the spouse's other aura until they formed only one aura.

Danny and Sam, still in each other's arms, squinted as the light emanating from the combined aura intensified. Then, they could also feel heat radiating from that light. Still, they felt compelled to watch. The light continue to pulsate until a very bright ball of white light formed around the ghost animals and then burst outward toward the human couple. Danny and Sam reflexively held tightly onto each other and closed their eyes, gasping in fear as they felt the warmth of that powerful energy penetrate them.

But a moment later, after the light fully dispersed, Danny and Sam opened their eyes when they realized that they had not been harmed. When they looked back up to where the ball of light had been, they gasped once more. But this time, their reaction was in awe; and their sadden faces lit up with joy at the sight that was now before them.

The ghost animals were no more, but there in their stead, floating just above the young human couple, was another young couple. But they were human ghosts. They were dressed in white, regal garments that shimmered and undulated in an unseen and unfelt wind. A small golden crown adorned with a central and lone dazzling diamond sat atop on each of their heads. Their skin was not grey, green or blue as most other ghosts, but looked a lot like Danny's ghostly skin tone and was surrounded by white auras, again, just like Danny.

The beautiful girl had long raven hair flowing under her crown that shined of the purest black silk and fell softly past the shoulders of her white and delicately-laced, long-sleeved, full-length gown. Her brilliant emerald eyes danced with joy and seemed to glow even brighter when she turned and looked at her husband.

The boy was handsome, tall and regal in his stature. His hair was also black as coal underneath his crown, and fell just short of his shoulders. But the warmth of his auburn eyes was mesmerizing not only when he beheld his beloved wife, but when Danny and Sam caught sight of them.

No longer in pain or sorrow, the ecstatic ghost couple smiled at each other as they unconsciously clasped hands.

Danny and Sam need not have been told that these were Derek's and Sarah's true forms; and that they had indeed been a very handsome couple when they had been alive. Yet, Danny and Sam were surprised how _very _young they were. They had thought the ghost couple would have been much, much older. But Derek and Sarah looked about their age, and, in fact, could not have been even a year older than they.

As Danny and Sam still stood stunned at the sight, still in each other's arms, Derek slowly and gently let go of his wife's hands. He slowly reached upward and gently captured both sides of the outline of her delicate chin with his hands and together, they drew nearer. Finally, their eyes closed and their lips met, and another burst of brilliant white light shot out from their powerful kiss.

Danny and Sam pulled each other closer as they watched, more overjoyed than embarrassed with the scene.

Finally, the ghost couple gently parted; and they instantly reached for the other's hand.

Sarah turned to Danny and Sam, and softly said, "Thank you! Thank you, Sir Danny and Lady Sam once more for helping us!"

The teen couple glanced at each other and then at the ghost couple, even more confused at her comment.

Derek chuckled a little at the human couple's reaction before saying, "It is all right, dear friends! What you two—and your friends—have learned in less than two decades took us centuries. We, too, had to endure much pain in order to grow. But because we were blinded by our pain, we could not grow. Until you came into our afterlives!"

"Yes, mi gentle lord and lady," Sarah softly continued, nodding her head slightly with respect toward the young human couple. "All our suffering had not been in vain. And the sad sorcerer had been right! We did not realize that until you showed us what sacrifice was."

Danny and Sam looked at each other, still at a loss about Derek and Sarah's insistence about their role with obviously breaking the spell. "W-What…" Danny finally was able to say.

But Derek interrupted him, "Forgive me, Sir Danny and Lady Sam, but let us explain. It was true what my beloved wife says. We could not believe at first that only in sacrifice was the curse to be broken. We had suffered and sacrificed so much through the years. But _how_ we suffered and _how_ we sacrificed was not enough. We now have the answer, thanks to you both. Yes, we had always been willing to forgo _for each other_, to aide each other through our suffering. But that was all. We did not care for the concerns of others, as we should have. We had misunderstood what the sorcerer had desperately wanted to tell us before he was taken. We now know that it was not his purpose to do so. We had to learn it ourselves…"

He turned to his wife and smiled. Sarah nodded in understanding and the ghost girl continued, "When we were alive, we did the proper things expected of us when it came to our duties. We were not evil in our intentions, but more had been expected of us that we had not understood. And that was that we lacked being able to sacrifice _for others. _Even in the midst of our turmoil upon the sweet Earth, we acted only for ourselves. We did not think of our families and our duties to sacrifice for _them._ We did not go beyond ourselves for the sake at least of my dear mother and Derek's good uncle. And yes, even for the sake of my father. I never told him that I had forgiven him."

She turned to her husband and he smiled, knowing that their minds were in sync. His eyes told her to go on and she added, "But those who cared most for us when we were upon the earth willingly sacrificed for _us,_ as all families should for each of their members. Even so, there was more. We still had the opportunity to see this in our wanderings; however, we failed once more. And that is because we were afraid. We could only turn invisible or intangible and fly and had no way to defend ourselves except with what Derek could do with his claws and fangs. And so, we were again absorbed in our own woes and kept to ourselves, guarding ourselves from the woes of others. We could not sacrifice for others."

The ghost girl then said, "But at least it was fortunate that we were married. Had we not been, then we would have been thrust from each other in the Ghost Zone at death, doomed to roam it in ultimate sorrow, and never finding or knowing what had become of the other. But the heavens took some pity on us and allowed us to be together so that we might not be doomed to endless separation together as what would have been our fate, but so that we could learn all as we should have."

Sarah paused a moment and looked at her husband. He gently nodded and she continued, "And during our journey here of late, I somehow knew things that I could not explain. But now I understand. I was given the small, momentarily gift of seeing events that were happening or could happen so that I may be guided to help you, as we were meant to do. The heavens have indeed always been merciful to us! We met you, and your friends. You have been sacrificing for others for such a little time, but, yet, you do so with purity of heart: and that is, because it is right. And we know that you will continue to do so while being committed to each other and to your families and friends. By your determination to love and still so willingly sacrifice, you have taught us well. And we should let you know that with your suffering, especially when we had caused it all, you became our family. We were given the chance and felt obligated, for once in our afterlives, to sacrifice—for you. We are honored to know you, and to know Sir Tucker and his love, and your sister, Sir Danny! Please grant us the favor of letting them know of our tale, since, alas, they are not here for us to tell them ourselves!"

Danny and Sam suddenly had tears silently falling from their respective faces, barely able to nod and unable to say anything. But when they looked at each other, they were not embarrassed by their tears and what the other knew at this moment: they both were too moved by the ghost couple's kind words.

Sarah smiled weakly at their response but continued nevertheless. "And we realized that all that suffering we had endured those many centuries had a purpose we could not understand until this moment. We were meant to wait for the answer until you and your friends came into our afterlives. And not only had we learned from you, we had to attest to you that all your ideals, especially those concerning love, are not only noble, they are worthy of upholding. Please forgive us, but we must say this to you. Never forget that, even when the temptations of the outside or even of your own internal natural forces seem greatest at the moment. You will be strong enough to resist them, as you have thus far. We are truly honored to know you, since what you will face is much more difficult than we had in our time. But 'truehearts' do not fear those matters, as you probably all ready know, because they know that it is the right thing to do." She paused only a moment before gently adding her next thought, "Besides, I am sure you understand, do you not, that guarding your ideals and virtues even amidst temptations and turmoil has everything to do with upholding 'a statement of individuality'?"

She smiled knowingly at the two teens and they blushed. But Sam blushed more.

But then, Derek pulled Sarah gently closer and said with a sigh, "But now, it is time, sweet Wife! Everything is over; we are at peace; and together, we will phase into the oblivion!" But he ended his comment with a smile.

Danny and Sam's faces instantly fell and they gasped. Unable to hide their sadness and now fear for the ghost couple, Danny was able to stutter, "B-But w-why will you go there? You both don't deserve that!"

Sarah laughed at his words and the sound of it was as the soft caress of a cool, running brook on a hot, lazy day.

Danny frowned in confusion, but she continued nevertheless, "Please. Do not be sad! We will not bear that being our last memory of you. If we should stay here in the Ghost Zone, we will still have to deal with many ghosts who have wicked intentions. You cannot call that a happy existence."

"We had heard whispers from other ghosts in our travels on how much they seemed to dread the oblivion. We, too, then, had feared it because we did not understand. But now, we do know! It is not to be feared by those who have kept their honor, fulfilled their duties and learned from their trials and tribulations. Some ghosts, it is true, should fear it. They will suffer greatly there—more so than here in this ghostly world—until their time comes. Still other ghosts will phase into it with dread as they meet their justice and…even the agony that it will bring…"

She paused once more and then smiled encouragingly at the young couple in front of her. They unconsciously returned her smile with a weak one of their own. But their eyes were still full of worry.

Nevertheless, Sarah turned to her husband and after reading his eyes, silently nodded at him with understanding. Squeezing his hand harder, she looked back at Danny and Sam and said with assurance and joy, "But for us, being with the Ultimate Peace, being with each other for eternity….it is _heaven_!"

No sooner had she said this then the white light that had been surrounding both of their ghostly human bodies intensified once again and the ball of brilliant white light that had first formed around them softly blanketed the regal ghost couple once more. Heat started to permeate again from that light, and then, the light orb pushed forward until it enveloped Danny and Sam.

Though they had to squint because of the glow, Danny and Sam still looked up and saw how radiant Derek and Sarah looked. This time, the human couple unconsciously smiled with joy at the sight and Derek and Sarah; and the ghostly couple, satisfied that this was how they wanted to remember the human couple, nodded to them and then to each other, before the light burst outward.

And as the light ebbed, Danny and Sam could no longer see the ghosts. But they then heard first Derek's, and then Sarah's echoing voices say, "Finally, Beloved, we are at peace!"…"Yes, my Love! Together, in Heaven. Forever!"

Once they had said that, Danny and Sam continued to hear the joyful laughter of the ghostly couple until it slowly phased away….

When Danny and Sam were finally enveloped in silence and in the dull light of the room, Danny could feel Sam trembling, her head against his chest. He pulled her closer and gently kissed the soft, fragrant top of her head before quietly saying, "It's all right, baby. They're happy!"

She sniffed a little and whispered, "Yeah, I know. It's just that I'm both happy and sad for them."

"Me, too, Sam, but we have to keep in mind that it would have been crueler and, really, more selfish of us to wish them to be with us while they were under or without their curse," her boyfriend gently replied.

"You're right, of course, honey," she replied, brushing her tears fully away. She sighed and looked up at him, before adding, "I'm OK, now! We need to go home."

He smiled weakly; but then, they both gasped when they heard a commotion just above the room they were in…

Still outside, and not expecting to see anything coming out of Spectra's lair, Tucker and Valerie gasped and Tucker quickly put the brakes on the hover-board when the door flung violently open. He then saw Spectra! His mind went to high alert. Now that both Spectra and Bertrand were here, _which _one of the ghosts should they shoot at first?

But in the next instant, it was obvious that they wouldn't have to answer that question. They saw a very ancient Spectra escaping from her lair, holding something in her hand. She headed in a random direction which was, coincidentally, toward the same shelf that Bertrand laid. A moment later, she spied Bertrand and landed next to him.

The two teens gasped when they saw what happened next.

When the shadow ghost saw her assistant's face, she screamed. And her scream then jolted Bertrand out of his stupor. Just as he was rousing, he shrieked in horror when his blurry vision beheld the sight of his female partner. What had happened?

But then Bertrand frowned when he wondered why Spectra had screamed at _him_. He grabbed the mirror she was holding right out of her hand and looked into it. When he saw his image in the same mirror which she was in front of, he shrieked again. They were _both_ hideously ancient! They had been splattered with the remaining aging potion! Spectra had received her unwanted 'dose' from Derek, and Valerie had thrown another vial of the stuff at Bertrand just before Tucker had netted him.

This time, Tucker and Valerie laughed when they saw the two old ghosts.

Spectra and Bertrand gasped when they saw the armed teens. Spectra began to wail, but Bertrand wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders in protection and sympathy. He pushed both of them upward, quickly darting off the shelf. He pulled her closer to him as they soared away, well, soared away as fast as their feeble, old forms could fly.

"Don't know how that happened to Spectra, but I really don't care. But how long do you think it'll be before they finally get over that one?" Tucker asked, slowing his laughter.

"I don't know, but like you, I really don't care. But I'd rather go see if Danny and Sam are in that Spectra's lair, then, since it's obvious that she somehow had been there!" Valerie slowly replied, pointing her gun over to the lair. "And now I'm worried about Sarah and Derek!"

Getting more sober now, they carefully flew into the lair. When the couple entered it, they couldn't miss the trap door. It was pulsating with a brilliant white light from below, which then, for some reason, dissipated.

"Well, that could explain why we couldn't find Danny!" Tucker said as he pushed the button from his PDA, immediately flooding more light into the room. He was about to activate the hover-board to dive into the opened trap door, when he was suddenly aware of the weight on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he slightly chuckled a "Duh!", and quickly pressed another button on his PDA. Valerie's gun immediately melded back into her battle suit.

But he hadn't turned enough to notice Valerie. She was swaying a little and having a harder time focusing. They both didn't know that her head was suddenly spinning from her exhaustion as well as the fact that she really hadn't recovered from Bertrand's attack; and her eyes weren't focusing well.

"Hang on!" he commanded to Valerie as their soared downward into the trap door…

Meanwhile, Danny was just about to turn Sam and him invisible and intangible when he heard a familiar noise very close to them and looked up.

It was Tucker and Valerie upon the hover-board.

"Danny!...Sam!" Tucker yelled in relief as he landed Valerie's flying machine right next to them. He quickly stepped off of it and hurriedly turned to help Valerie off of it. He then helped her sit down upon it as the board hovered in place. He then twisted back around and ran right up to his two best friends. He gave both of them a huge hug at the same time.

When Tucker pulled away from them, he could see that they seemed relatively unharmed, though their clothes were in tatters. And they both looked beat and very pale.

"You're all right, aren't you?" He quickly scanned the room and added, "And have you seen any ghost animals?"

Sam's and Danny's faces unconsciously dropped in a frown upon hearing the mention of Sarah and Derek again.

Tucker jolted when he saw their reaction. Now frightened that something dreadful had happened to the ghost animals and maybe even to his two best friends after all, Tucker blurted out, "Please tell me that you're all right! What happened? And where are the ghost animals?"

But before either of Tucker's best friends could answer, Valerie groaned and the three best friends gasped when she fell to the floor. What Tucker didn't know was that Valerie had become so dizzy by the time Tucker had helped her sit, that she hadn't even noticed that they had found Danny…and Sam.

"She got hurt!" Tucker quickly explained to his friends as he rushed over to Valerie. Danny and Sam were right behind him and reached the couple just as Tucker was gently lifting the Red Huntress into his arms.

Valerie tried to smile, but couldn't and closed her eyes.

"Valerie!" Tucker yelled, panicking when she went limp in his arms.

But in the next instant, Tucker and his girl were surrounded in a bright blue aura. Danny had willed his healing power right upon reaching his male friend, having immediately touched Tucker on his shoulders just as he did. A few moments later and Valerie began to stir.

The bright blue aura dissipated just as Valerie's eyes fluttered open. She instantly knew that she was in Tucker's arms. She smiled up at him; and drawing _both _of her arms up and wrapping her hands behind his neck, she gave him a very affectionate kiss.

Sam frowned. Obviously the two had made up. But her thoughts were interrupted by Valerie's next reaction.

Suddenly, Valerie pulled abruptly away from Tucker when she finally realized what happened—that somehow, she was cured—and gasped.

Tucker startled a little on what she had done, but finished helping her up just the same. "A-Are you all right?" he fretfully asked as he pulled her fully upright.

She reflexively examined her right arm and pulling off the makeshift sling and bandage, saw that the open wound was also completely gone, without leaving as much as a small scar that it had been there. She gasped in surprise when she could also move that same arm freely without any difficulty or pain. And her dizziness and headache were completely expelled! Turning back to her boyfriend, she said in utter bewilderment, "Yes, I think so! But how? My arm…it was cut…and I was sure it was broken and…"

She stopped and when she finally glanced up, she saw Danny _Phantom_ smiling weakly at her with a poker-faced Sam standing next to him. They still had their arms around each other's waist as they looked silently at her.

Then, the thought struck Valerie squarely. Somehow, she had a hunch that Danny had somehow helped her—yet again. And then she jolted at her next thought. How did Sam get here? But instead of remembering Tucker's hunch, another thought then rammed her. Danny and Sam! Of course, _they_ didn't know that she and Tucker had made up. And _they_ didn't know that _she_ now knew about Danny's secret; and yet, Danny _still helped_ her when he thought _she_ still hated his guts. She smiled weakly back at them and stammered, "Uh, h-hi, and, uhm, t-thanks! But how?"

Tucker excitedly interrupted her, "He has healing powers, that's how! Isn't that _so _cool?"

Sam then frowned at Tucker, irritated with him, but she remained mute nevertheless.

But Tucker caught Sam's drift. He then glanced at Valerie and reading how kinda in shock the look on _her_ face was at seeing Danny as Phantom, finally confessed to his best friends, "Duh! How _could _you know? You _don't_ know! She _knows_!"

This time, Danny and Sam jolted, now perturbed when they got what his remark meant, and just how flip he seemed to be about it. How could he? Why did he tell Valerie Danny's secret? But they still didn't say anything.

Valerie bit her lip and cringed when she saw and understood _the other couple's _obvious reaction. But she quickly piped in, "I swear, it's _not_ Tucker's fault that I know! I found out myself…after I, uhm, shot at you, Danny, when you were helpless in that pit before Spectra got to you. You must have maybe, uhm, lost your powers or something and then when I looked into the pit…I, uhm,.." She stopped a moment, remembering that weird purple energy field again. But she thought it was more important to talk about this instead. She immediately threw that thought away and then said, "I, uh, I saw Danny Phantom become Danny _Fenton_! I didn't mean it, and I'm sorry….sorry about everything. I, uh, uhm,…"

She paused and her face dropped. She didn't want to tell them how she reacted to the discovery. She was too ashamed. Still, she didn't want to lie to them anymore…

But before she could say anything else, Tucker interrupted her. "You know guys, it was a real shocker for her when it happened; but, in the end, she was OK with it, and _that's_ the reason why we're _both_ here. We _both_ wanted to help you, Danny! And you, too, Sam! You know, it was so weird, guys, but I had a strange feeling all along that Sam was somehow here and had been in trouble, too! I can't explain it! But, we're glad you're both all right!"

Tucker immediately glanced at Valerie and his eyes smiled at her in understanding. She, too, acknowledged what he had meant with a weak smile. Neither of them wanted to lie to Danny and Sam. But some difficult things are meant to be shared by only those who had been directly involved with them, for the sake of the feelings of others. And, really, Tucker hadn't lied to his friends. He just wasn't specific about it all. And now, both Valerie and Tucker felt that keeping Valerie's detailed reaction to discovering Danny's secret was better left between the two of them alone. For Danny and Sam's sake.

Suddenly, all four teens fell to silence, as millions of questions surfaced and resurfaced in all of their minds. Among them, Tucker still wanted to know where Sarah and Derek were. Valerie thought about that purple shield that had protected Danny again and wondered how it got there in the first place. Danny wanted to know just how Tucker and Valerie—and even the ghost animals—had found them—and how Sam had been captured. And Sam wanted to know how Tucker and Valerie knew about the ghost animals—and what had happened to Spectra and Bertrand.

Even as the gazillion questions still filled his mind, Danny was finally able to say something about the most important question: the one Tucker had asked earlier. "Well, OK, then. But about Sarah and Derek. All I can say right now is that they are OK. And, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd say that we need to get home. But, I think, with everything that has happened to everybody in the last few weeks, we won't be having _any_ trouble talking this time!"

His three companions smiled weakly, but nodded in agreement with him. Then, Tucker spied Danny's Blazers. He ran over to them, grabbed them, and quickly gave them to his friend.

Danny smiled and nodded his appreciation to Tucker. Tucker and Valerie then hopped onto her hover-board and Danny tightened his hold around Sam's waist. Leading the way, Danny lifted upward with his girl while Tucker and Valerie followed him on the hover-board.

The foursome quickly exited the small room, left Spectra's lair, and headed for home…

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**A/N: Don't worry. There's still a little more story to come. You know I always have an epilogue. And don't forget to send me your thoughts. I would really love to e-hear them! truephan**


	56. Chapter 56 Epilogue

**A/N: Well, it's time to tie up those loose ends—and, man, I didn't realize until now **_**just how many**_** loose ends there were! I'm not gonna do THAT again! LOL! Even so, I guess I really must have had an evil desire to keep the story going. But, alas, all stories must end sometime; and y'all **_**know**_** that I always finish my stories. And so, alas, this is the **_**end**_**. *Sniff.* BUT, I hafta warn y'all. It's a CRAZY loose-ending! I didn't see any other way to do it, and, this chapter was just as demanding to be written as some of the others, so, there ya go! Besides, I just **_**had**_** to get some humor in this otherwise dramatic piece. But, remember: I warned y'all! This chappie is ALL OVER THE PLACE! And don't forget the IDNOAC thing. I hoped you've enjoyed the story and I still crave to hear your e-thoughts! And so, without further ado, here is the Epilogue—the longest, to be sure! Enjoy!**

TrueHeart—Epilogue

Thankfully, Danny and his _three_ friends made it home without any other incidents; and everything was said and done by the time Friday came. After checking in with all of their families, and though it was now very late, Danny's three friends got permission to stay at Danny's—for a little while, anyway.

They all waited in Danny's room while Danny went to get Jazz. Immensely relieved that her brother was okay, she had given him a tremendous hug that had lasted longer than they had ever had before. Neither of them really minded; but both of them were anxious to find out what had happened in all the time they were apart and soon returned to the group waiting for them.

Now that the quintet had gathered, they talked non-stop, excited to begin to tell their own tales of all the events that had happened in the past few weeks. But, they all had wanted to start on the subject most dear to their hearts: the fate of Derek and Sarah. And that's where their conversation began. All were especially moved by the ghost couple's bittersweet tale as it unfolded. However, all of the teens agreed that in the end, Derek and Sarah's saga was beautiful; and though they grieved for them in some ways, they were all happy and at peace about the young ghost couple's fate.

However, the ghost couple's story had taken them longer to tell—and it was more affecting-than any of the teens had thought. They all found themselves in a hush after relating what each of them knew about Derek and Sarah. And then, even though each of them still had so much more to talk about, each of them quietly knew that all of them were both physically and mentally exhausted. And they realized that they had to stop at that point and go home. But none of them really wanted that, either.

Finally, Jazz braved the suggestion for them to retire for the night; and even though Sam, Tucker and Valerie replied with their objections, they were obviously weak ones. So, promising each other that they would meet up as soon as possible tomorrow to continue in their discussion, Danny escorted Sam home, and Valerie took Tucker home on her hover-board. After their respective good-night kisses, the four teens retired to their homes…

And then, Saturday crept in and Danny was up much earlier than he thought his body would have ever allowed after all that happened. Yet, he couldn't go back to sleep. He had had a restless night, still having some mixed emotions about everything. He just felt that he really needed to meet back up with everyone.

He slowly went downstairs and was a little surprised to see that the light in the kitchen was on. Was Jazz up this early? He knew she was an early-riser, but she had gone to bed as late as he. But was it his parents? He wasn't sure, but had to ready, just in case.

He quickly became Phantom. Then just as quickly, he became invisible and intangible just before poking his head right through the kitchen door. Though relieved by what he saw, he was still a little surprised to see that his sister was up after all. In fact, she was obviously so very much awake, she was busy cooking herself some scrambled eggs.

Then a wicked little thought crept into his mind. This had to be the most _perfect _opportunity for him to scare her. He phased through all the way and quietly floated as close as he could towards her.

But just as he was about to say the infamous "Boo!", the mixing bowl she was using to pour the eggs into the ready frying pan unexpectedly slipped out her hand and went crashing to the floor.

The noise it made was enough to startle Danny and he unconsciously rematerialized.

But by the time he did, Jazz had already turned to look at the damage to the mixing bowl just when she caught sight of her brother. And since her other hand was still on the frying pan, she reflexively threw up her hands and screamed when _that_ startled her and the frying pan flew out of her hand and hit her brother right on the head!

"OUCH!" Danny yelled just as the frying pan continued to fall to the floor. But then, it made contact with his foot. "OWWW!" he yelled again in pain, immediately hopping on his uninjured foot.

Jazz looked helplessly on, still stunned by what had happened. But then she said, "I'm sorry! I didn't see you, Danny. Uh, literally!" Then she thought about it and smirked, "Oh, I see now! You meant that! Then it serves you right, little brother, for scaring me this early in the morning! I thought that your 'on-watch duty' didn't begin until two o'clock in the afternoon on weekends!"

"Very funny," Danny growled, still rubbing his sore head. "OK, so I give. And I guess I did kinda deserve it—only because I got caught! At least I got to scare you part-way, even if it didn't go as planned."

Jazz smirked and then pointing to the broken bowl full of broken eggs, said, "Can I fix you some eggs?"

"Ha-ha," he replied before he reached down to retrieve the frying pan. Then he zapped the mess on the floor, completely evaporating it all. The floor was now totally clean. He then looked up at his sister, who had her mouth open from what he just did. He smirked, "What? It's the least I could do!"

She smirked back and said, "Yeah, you're right. But seriously, I would have been surprised to see you up this early either way. Are you OK?"

Turning back into his human form, Danny replied, "Well, I am still kinda tired, but I'm also still so excited about what happened that I really couldn't sleep. Besides, you and Mom and Dad still haven't heard about everything yet."

"Well, that's OK. You can wait for Mom and Dad. They're still not back from their adventure, yet."

"Not back?" Danny suddenly gasped, reflexively putting down the oatmeal package he had just retrieved from the cupboard. They had told them they were going to be gone for a little while, but he didn't think that they would have taken this long. He then frowned when he finally saw that his sister wasn't at all concerned, and added, "You're not worried?"

"No! They did call about a couple of dozen or more times last night and this morning. I tried to contact them before, but they were out of range. But obviously they must be close enough now. And I just got off the phone with them shortly before you came out of your 'coma' routine. They said that they had a lot of success in their experiment and they have a surprise for us when they get home, which should be some time this afternoon."

Danny started to prepare his hot cereal and chuckled, "Well, that could be good or bad news! Still, I hope they had a good time."

"Oh, they did. They really had no idea how large and complicated the Ghost World is, or how much time it would take to get back."

"Zone. It's Ghost _Zone_," Danny reflexively corrected her, placing his oatmeal in the microwave.

Breathing outward in slight exasperation, Jazz said, "I knew that! Anyhow, speaking of time, when are you going to get back with everybody so we can find out all about everything? You did all promise last night to do that right away. But I am curious and wouldn't mind if you told me some of it a little ahead of schedule."

Danny pulled out his bowl of oatmeal out of the microwave and as he walked over to the table, replied, "Yeah, I know I promised; and I won't mind telling you some stuff now, if you don't mind listening to it all over again once the rest of the gang gets here."

"You know me, little brother," she said with a smirk, "I already listen to what happens twice—once when I'm snooping and then when you finally tell me!"

"Hey!" he objected after swallowing his first bite.

"I'm just kidding, Danny. I don't snoop _all_ the time!"

They both chuckled and Danny began to tell her what had happened between eating bites of his breakfast. He hadn't finished telling Jazz everything, but had just finished cleaning up after breakfast, when his cell phone rang.

"Hey, Tuck!...You couldn't sleep either?...What's that?..."

Tucker yawned and replied, _"I said, I forgot to give you back your pheromones! Valerie and I got a bunch of vials full of them from Bertrand's lair. I think you better come over here soon and get them. It kinda creeps me out. It's like I have some of your blood staring at me here or something!"_

"OK, dude, I'll come by right now if you want," Danny said with a slight laugh.

"_Great!"_ Tucker said with some relief. _"See ya!"_ he added, just before hanging up…

Danny was there in no time and Tucker answered the door. They went up to Tucker's room and the bespectacled boy showed his friend the pouch full of the glowing pheromones.

"What are you gonna to do with them?" Tucker finally asked his friend, gingerly—yet readily—giving the pouch to his friend.

Lifting one of the vials out of the pouch and admiring it, Danny answered, "I really don't know. But it's kinda of a shame to use them up, isn't it? I think they look really neat."

"What? Are you kidding?" Tucker objected, cringing a bit. "We all know that getting them _out _of you almost took you completely out, dude. I think you should just reabsorb them all in at once or something, so that they don't get lost or the vials don't get broken…or something."

"I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to do that, Tuck. But I can worry about that later. I feel just fine now," Danny replied, replacing the vial he had taken out back into the pouch.

Tucker pointed to the glowing pouch and insisted, "Yeah, sure. You may feel fine now. But who knows if, underneath, your ghostly cells aren't collapsing just like tipped dominoes do, all because you're missing a lot of your ghostly pheromones?"

Danny blinked in disbelief before saying, "I think…you need more sleep, dude!"

Tucker didn't smile back. He was somewhat serious about what he had just said. "C'mon, Danny!"

Danny frowned in slight irritation, and then pulled out one of the vials…

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A few hours later, Tucker's cell phone rang. Danny had long since left Tucker's house.

"Hi, Sam! Glad to hear you're up. I was just about to call you and Valerie to see if you were ready to meet up again at Danny's house." The boy briefly frowned at the thought of his friend again.

She then told him,_ "Well, I've been up for about an hour, right after Danny called. But all I got from what he was saying was that he had gone to your house earlier to get something. But that was all. He was just talking so fast. And then, he kept…well, __**giggling**__! But then, I thought maybe he wanted me to come over and when I checked at his house, he wasn't home…And obviously he's not with you. I've already tried calling him again, but I just keep getting his voice mail. So, where is he?" _

"I don't know, Sam," he began_, _but then bit his lip at his next silent thought**. **_"Last time I saw him was a few hours ago when he came over to… Wait. Oh…that would, uhm, kinda explain everything…" _He then gingerly said to his female friend, "Uhm, I kinda have an idea why he might not be home…"

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But Danny's two best friends hadn't known what had happened right after Danny had left Tucker's. He _had_ gone home. And when he got there, his parents were just arriving from the Ghost Zone, earlier than they had expected.

Danny and Jazz were happy to see them, of course, but Danny seemed to be kinda jumpy.

He couldn't stand still; and when he tried to sit down to listen, he couldn't do that, either…In fact, he kept changing his position every few seconds—and then _giggling_ at the oddest times—as he listened to their story…

Finally, at the end of their account, Maddie said, "And the Boo-merang worked great! In fact, it homed in perfectly to the ghost's signature we keyed in. And we caught him!" She said with glee. But then she cringed and looked right to Danny just as he shifted positions again, "Not that we're going to _hurt_ him, Danny. We just wanted to interview him so that we can start a list of biographies, a sorta log on all the ghosts. It helps to know which ghosts are good and which are bad, so we know what we're up against, you know!"

Danny just nodded before grinning way bigger than he should have in reaction to what his mom had just said. Immediately after that, he sprung up out of his seat again, chuckling when he lost his balance. But just as weirdly, he instantly regained his balance and shot back up straight.

His mother cringed at how odd her son was now acting, and Jazz, too, noticed that her brother's behavior was getting more bizarre.

But his father didn't notice and piped right in, "You got that right, Sweetcakes! We just can't wait to show you, Danny!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Jack quickly left to retrieve the captured ghost.

Maddie finally turned to her son and eyeing him suspiciously asked, "Are you all right, Honey?"

"OhsureMom," (1) he quickly said with a goofy smile. "Whywouldn'tIbe?" (2)

Maddie and Jazz looked at Danny and then at each other in bewilderment but they were afraid to say any more.

A couple of minutes later, Jack returned and as he entered the room with a glowing box, he bellowed in that very boisterous voice of his, "Yeah, we had a great adventure in the Ghost Zone. So, Danny, how's everything with you?"

"FineDad Wehadourown adventuretooand Ican'twaittotell youandMomandJazz," (3) Danny fired right back just as he rapidly approached his father and the box. "ButIfeelkinda strangesofirstIthinkIneed toburnupsomeuhmunplanned and unwantedenergy." (4)

Jack frowned this time when he didn't understand a word that his son had said. But he still opened the box and out jumped—the Box Ghost!

"Beware! I am the…." The Box Ghost began, but when he suddenly saw Danny's eyes light up, turning from blue to a _very_ bright, glowing green, he gasped and bolted away.

Without saying another word to his family, Danny giggled and then morphed into Phantom, soaring right after the unlucky ghost immediately afterward. And they hadn't heard from the boy for several hours afterward….

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"_What do you mean that he reabsorbed __**all**__ of his pheromones at once?"_ Sam yelled into the phone after Tucker had given her a quick explanation about how he had gotten the glowing vials and what happened when he insisted that Danny reabsorb all of his remaining missing pheromones as soon as possible.

Tucker yelled back in exasperation, "_I'm sorry, Sam! There were just a lot of vials of his pheromones and I just thought he would get sick or something if he didn't reabsorb them."_

"_That could've been dangerous, Tucker! Did it ever occur to you that he could've __**gotten sick **__on taking too much too fast? And that may explain why he's not home. He probably can't even stop to think!"_ she insisted, unconsciously tightening her grip on her cell phone.

Tucker cringed when he could practically feel Sam's irritation. He hadn't, of course, realized that giving Danny all his charged-up pheromones would both, well, charge Danny up and discombobulate him at the same time. But how he reacted now to all those reabsorbed pheromones was very different when he had received them in Spectra's lair.

When Danny had received his first major reabsorption 'dosage' in Spectra's lair, his life was in danger; and so he had actually needed every waft of his ghostly pheromones to recuperate from Spectra's attacks _and _regain his strength. But when Tucker had insisted that Danny take a similarly potent 'dose' this time, the results had been, well, quite a bit more potent than any energy drink ever purported to be. After all, his body had long since recovered on its own and was at full strength when he had taken the pheromones…

Tucker finally—and sheepishly—replied_, "I guess you might be right, Sam! He certainly began to act very strangely right after he had emptied all those vials…all jittery and even silly. And from what I could gather from what Danny had __**very**__ rapidly said after that was that his pheromones __**are**__ very powerful stuff! He said something about the fact that Spectra was really hard to fight after she had absorbed his pheromones."_

"_Duh!"_ Sam said, still irritated. _"Did ya think that maybe those pheromones did pack a might big punch if taken all at once? But, maybe he'll be alright in a few hours. Still, that was such a lame idea, Tucker!"_

"_I said I was __**sorry**__, Sam!" _he protested, but he wasn't angry at her. He was still exasperated with himself for making his best friend do that._ "How was I supposed to know that making Danny open all those vials all at once would be considered underage pheromone reabsorption?" _

That comment was met with dead silence on Sam's end. At first, Tucker thought she might explode with an angry reprimand and he cringed, readying him for her verbal assault. But instead, in the next instant, he heard his female best friend _laugh_—hysterically! Both relieved and surprised to hear her laugh like that—when he hadn't ever heard her laugh like that before—he braved a response, _"Uh, Sam, are you all right?"_

She slowed her laughter down and then managed to reply, "_Yes, I'm OK, Tucker….I guess it wasn't your fault after all! Who knows? I might have made Danny do the same thing."_

Tucker smiled and said, _"Thanks, Sam. And I'll let you know if Danny calls so that we can all meet up. I still have lots of questions to ask everyone." _Then another thought struck him_. "Uh, did ya think about calling him __**your**__ way?"_

"_No, but I don't want to use or even __**think **__about using that just because I don't know where he is. I don't want it to become something neither of us wants. In fact, I'd rather not think of using it as a first resort. And, really, he needs some time alone, too, you know, like we all do…" _Then she paused at her next thought and blurted out, _"Besides, for some odd reason, I just know he's not in trouble…"_

Tucker didn't question her on that last statement. He had, strangely, felt it, too. But before he could tell her that, she continued.

"_And I can guess that this wouldn't be the best time to try to contact him. He might not be able to live down whatever dark secrets I might find out about him in his current 'delicate state'—though it is tempting!" _she said dryly_. _

Tucker chuckled a little, _"Well, I better get going, and I'll let you know if he calls, OK?"_

"_Thanks, Tucker. And I'll call you if he calls me first, OK?"_

"_OK!" _he said just before hanging up.._. _

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But the two friends didn't hear from or see their best friend for the rest of the day—or night—for that matter. Danny had spent part of the time chasing and doing mischievous things to the Box Ghost. The rest of the time he had flown randomly—and rapidly—throughout the Ghost Zone, burning off that unconventional 'dosage' of energy. And when the effects of all that energy finally wore off, Danny, dizzy from the incident, was barely able to get home. When he finally phased into his room, he morphed back to his human form and fell exhausted into his bed. He didn't stir at all until the next day.

Danny woke feeling refreshed and oddly giddy. But he thought nothing more of it and went downstairs for breakfast. His mother and sister were already there when he arrived in the kitchen. As soon as they saw him, they eyed him nervously, but said nothing.

But Danny's mother and sister soon found out that he was acting just like his old self and thought better of asking him what had happened yesterday at the moment. They would just put it on the back burner right now, chalking it up as another bizarre fluky episode that happened quite a bit to the Fenton family...

Now that said bizarre fluky episode was over, all the concerned parties, and Danny's family, were finally able to get together later that morning to finish talking about everything that had happened in the past few weeks, _including, _as it were_, _what had happened to Danny yesterday.

But only one of the four teens who had been involved in everything listened more than talked. And that was Sam. She hadn't offered any guesses on from where that large purple force field protecting Danny when Valerie almost obliterated him had come. And she didn't even mention anything about how Spectra and Bertrand had been attacked while she was still bound to the wall and Danny was unconscious in that secret underground room. And she especially didn't want to say anything when she now knew that Danny hadn't seen what she had done, either. She had her reasons and didn't want to make a big deal of it….at least not in front of everyone.

After all that was said and done, the four teens most affected by all the events continued to mull everything over. And they didn't want to leave right away when Danny's family had excused themselves once everything had been told. They sat quietly at first, still having a bazillion thoughts about all that had happened. It wouldn't have been easy not to have let it go for awhile, anyhow, since there had been such emotional turmoil that had erupted throughout their ordeals.

They had suffered a lot, true, but they all sensed that they were all for the better because of it. Both Danny and Sam couldn't agree more. They definitely had gone through a lot of pain in their relationship in the past few weeks. But, now, they also felt that they had grown from it…Had grown stronger and deeper in their understanding and _trust_ of each other. And they knew that their love for each other had been the key.

Tucker and Valerie also felt that their relationship was now as fresh as any new bud of spring. A tremendous weight had been lifted off of both of them and they were now free to put honesty first—bound by love—in their relationship, as all relationships should.

As they continued to talk quietly among themselves in Danny's living room, Danny had a sudden thought. "Oh, no!" he blurted out, startling the others slightly since they were having a much more staid discussion before he did.

"What's wrong, Danny?" Sam said, suddenly worried.

He smiled weakly when he saw their concerned faces and replied, "Sorry, guys, but we forgot about Armen and Al! They were practically in all this craziness as much as we were! And now they think they've been the 'bad guys' after all that happened at school and none of it has really been their fault. And, I guess, we could even overlook how spazzed Al acted in her crazed-out jealousy over Armen. At least, I can understand that! Then shouldn't we explain all of this to them?"

"We can't do that, Danny!" Sam objected.

Tucker and Valerie, though secretly agreeing with Sam, felt that they didn't have a right to say anything about that because it really was Danny's call.

"Why not, Sam? You have to admit that it wasn't their fault and they have a right to know!" But before she could answer him, Danny turned to Tucker and Valerie and asked, "What do you guys think?"

Tucker and Valerie looked at each other and then speaking for them both, Tucker said, "You're right about most of everything's not being Armen and Al's fault. And, really, dude, we don't want to lie to them. We've been experts on that subject for far too long. But I kinda agree with Sam. We can't just tell them everything! Some things have to remain secret or else…well, don't you remember all those times when everyone knew your secret?"

Valerie then looked in both surprise and confusion on what her boyfriend just said. "Huh?" she blurted out.

Tucker sheepishly smiled at her and said, "Uh, just put that on your 'List of Things Tucker Needs to Explain One Day', OK, honey?"

Not wanting to get off onto a tangent now, Valerie smiled back weakly and nodded.

Danny looked at the three teens as they sat in silence waiting for his answer. He finally said, "OK, I agree. We won't tell them everything. I guess they wouldn't believe us if we tell them the whole truth! It's just so crazy!"

"Welcome to Amity Park," Sam said with a smirk. "They'll figure it out sooner than you think that what we tell them won't be that far-fetched. They just had a more direct introduction to ghosts, that's all!"

"OK, then we all agree that we keep both secrets—mine and Valerie's—and tell them only about the ghosts?" Danny finally asked the three teens.

His three friends nodded and that was that. And since they had spent practically the whole friggin' day here, all of them wanted to finally get home and at least _try_ to do some schoolwork before they would have to go back to school tomorrow.

xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, the two couples met up at the usual rendezvous point that the _three _best friends had been using for, like, forever. As they talked on their way to school, the foursome hadn't really noticed how more at ease they were around each other. After all, in many ways, the ice had been broken among them from the recent 'Penelope Spectra' affair.

And way before this morning, Tucker and Valerie also had had the chance for an even closer heart-to-heart talk about that other secret that she had kept from him…the one about how her mother had died. And all the hurt that had come with it. She felt their bond strengthen when it was all too obvious that he had totally understood about it all in the end—as he _always_ had with everything.

Even Sam didn't find it too difficult to get along with Valerie now, though the goth girl wasn't in a hurry to be all chummy right away with her past nemesis. Still, the conversation flowed, and before they got to school, they all agreed that they all needed to be there when Danny talked everything over with Armen and Al. They planned to do that at lunch.

All morning long, all four of the teens intermittently glanced over at either Armen or Al, anticipating the 'big meeting'. However, none of them knew how obvious they had been in doing that, since they were all nervous about getting everything over with.

But, unfortunately, Armen and Al _had noticed_ the strange looks that the foursome had been giving them through most of the morning. And they certainly did not like having major déjà vu with receiving this unwanted attention once again—especially from _those _four. After all, one of the things that Armen and Al had agreed upon after coming to terms with all the weirdness that had happened to them was to avoid these four _even weirder_ teens at all costs. They just didn't like, want or need all the attention, especially when all of that attention before had brought only _a lot_ of trouble for the both of them. They were too freaked out by it all.

Finally, however, it was lunch. And just when it looked as if the foursome were about to corner the nervous Armen and Al—which they kind of were—Armen quickly spoke to Alice.

But he was so nervous as the other two pair of teens converged on them, he hadn't realized he was speaking to her in his native language, nor that he had let loose a barrage of questions at her. _"Što žele? Mislite lid a su uzrujani?_"(5)

He glanced back up at the other teens and bit his lower lip. But he didn't wait for Al to respond before quickly adding, ""_Ali, oni ne izgledaju ljut. Oni izgledaju nervozan, previše! Na taj način, dozvoljava 'pričati s njima, u redu? Ne želim da se više ljut na nas, zar ne? Ja stvarno ištanje da biste dobili preko svega ovoga, tako da mislim da trebamo razgovarati s njima, čak i ako mislite da smo ludi! U redu?"(6)_

Even though Armen had still been trying to teach Al Croatian—and Al was trying to teach him English—he was speaking so quickly that she didn't understand most of what he said, except for the "_u redu_" part. That was one term that had become well-used between the two of them lately—which was essentially translated as 'OK'.

Still, she frowned at him. She wasn't sure if he was stating or asking her if everything was OK. So, she asked, "_U redu_?"

But since he was still on edge, Armen misunderstood this as her agreeing with him to approach the four other teens. He quickly grabbed Al's hand and led her over to them.

Al's first impulse was to object, but she, too, really wanted to clear the air with the foursome.

Once they got to the four other teens, Armen immediately blurted out to them—still not realizing that he was _not _speaking English, "_Ja, uhm, mi je žao za sve što smo učinili za vas! Molimo Vas da nam se oprosti, ne znam - i ne mogu objasniti - što se dogodilo_." (7)

When no one responded to his apology, Armen began to panic. Was he going crazy again? It had taken Alice at least a day to calm him after all that strange stuff had happened the very last time he had had any contact with at least Sam, and he was beginning to think it was all happening again! He turned to Al, his eyes widen in panic, searching for her help.

And it was a good thing he did turn to her, because she then got the chance to say something. With a reassuring smile, she softly said, "It's _u redu_, Armen! Just calm down, _u redu_? You didn't know you were speaking in Croatian for the last couple of minutes! I think I know what you mean, so would you please let me tell them?"

He sighed in relief, kind of sure he had understood her. He nodded weakly.

Al immediately turned to the two other couples and sheepishly said, "Armen and I have been talking a lot lately about a lot of stuff—especially all that spazzed-out stuff that we did to you all….We can't really explain it, but we're sorry for…."

But Danny interrupted her, "It's OK, Al and Armen. Really. We all now understand that it wasn't you're fault! We kinda have to explain everything to you."

Sam, Tucker, and Valerie tensed a little when he said that. Had he changed his mind?

But they immediately inwardly sighed in relief—and slightly cringed—after hearing Danny say, "We know you both are new here and you really don't know anything about our town. It's just too bad you learned it _way_ earlier than most people. It's really, heh-heh, a crazy little town! And, uhm, this may sound crazy—and I guess it really is—but there's a very crazy reason for that!"

He paused and silently cringed. Somehow, he had pictured this explanation going very differently. Now growing more nervous, he still pressed on, "And as crazy as it seems, and as crazy as it sounds, the reason it's a crazy little town is because it has more than its fair share of crazy, uhm, ghosts! It's the most haunted place on Earth! And people sometimes—well, uhm, _lots _of time—get accidentally mixed up with those crazy ghosts. And ghosts have the craziest—and very mysterious—reasons for messing around with humans. And that means very crazy things happen when they do."

The young hybrid paused again and glanced at his friends before continuing, "So, all of us talked it over and agree that this was just one of those crazy, mysterious things. You both just must have been somehow controlled by those ghosts. But the good news is that they usually don't bother you much once they've messed with you…" He then added to himself, _"I hope!"_

He paused when he saw that Al was looking at him as if he just landed from another planet. And since he didn't understand anything, Armen looked as if he were like a deer caught in headlights. He just thought everything was just as crazy as he felt.

Danny then chuckled nervously and continued, "So, think of this as your introduction into a very unique and crazy club!"

"Yeah, you can think of it as the crazy ride you needed to take to be accepted here," Tucker jumped in, trying to help. "You know, like all those crazy induction ceremonies those sororities and fraternities in college do…only that we're in this crazy high school!" Tucker blurted out, and then cringed at how stupid that must have sounded. He quickly changed his frown to a sheepish smile after that.

Sam and Valerie kept their cheesy fake smiles on the entire time and said nothing. They couldn't help but notice that Al was looking at them as if _they _were crazy. Still, any hole that the boys had already dug was deep enough. But there seemed to be no other way around it, and they thought the boys didn't do _that_ badly. After all, it could've been worse. Finally, they nodded when the boys seemed to be done. They wanted Armen and Al to know that they were in agreement with the boys—which, really, they sort of were.

Alice blinked in disbelief during Danny and Tucker's entire explanation and then was silent at first when they finished. She looked at each of the four other teens again. Were they for real? She was a little creeped out about it, but was so relieved that they were no longer angry with her or Armen—and because, really, _no other_ explanation would've have made any _better_ sense— she decided to keep the peace and roll with it. She then turned and looked at Armen. How was she going to explain that to _him_? She would have to worry about that later. Instead, she stammered, "W-Well, uhm, that would explain…everything. So, you're not mad at us?"

All four of the teen smiled in relief and shook their heads.

"And you're not mad at us, are you?" Tucker piped in.

"Just a sec, OK?" she said and the others nodded nervously. "Armen?"

He looked at her in earnest. "Yeez?"

She continued with a nervous, but encouraged smile, "_Sve ... dobro. Oni, uh, ne ljut. U_ _redu? Sve u redu! U redu_?" (8) The blond-hair girl then ended her attempt at speaking Croatian with an even bigger, relieved smile.

When the Croatian boy saw that all seemed to be well, he put on an even bigger and more relieved smile and blurted out, "_Hvala! Puno ti hvala! Ja sam tako sretna sada_!" (9)

This time, however, he realized that he had just accidentally spoken Croatian again; and he immediately added, "Sorry! Tank me! I mean, thank _you_ veery much! You, I mean, _I_ am so happee! Thank you!"

Before the four teens could do anything else, the foreign boy rushed over to them and shook each of their hands excitedly and then followed that up with a huge group hug. He pulled rapidly away and started to enthusiastically shake their hands—again—when he felt someone gently pull on his arm.

He turned and saw Al smiling weakly at him and silently egging him away from the group. He smiled sheepishly back; and before leaving with her, nodded back in appreciation at the slightly stunned foursome.

"That…went…well," Sam slowly and dryly uttered, still staring back at the exiting couple.

"Yeah, then, let's make sure we steer clear from them from now on. Such a weird, crazy couple!" Valerie quipped back.

All four teens laughed. They knew, really, that they must have sounded just as weird—and crazy—to them. But at least now they also felt that they could start being friends with Armen and Al. Satisfied and relieved that all had really gone well, they finally went to the cafeteria to eat their lunch in peace.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

With all the loose ends _finally _tied, well, except for now being behind in school work—no surprise there!—Danny and Sam and Tucker and Valerie met up for their very first—and shortest—double date. They really had no time to go to the movies; since all of their parents had firmly insisted that they get onto that 'catching up' thing when it came to school, and they would not be able to stay out that late at all. And since Danny insisted that this—like many crisp, clear winter nights—was a great night to star gaze, they all decided to go the park and do just that.

After each couple had placed the heavy blankets they had brought with them on the snowy-covered hill, they lay down on their backs, covered themselves with the other blankets they had brought, and began to look at the stars in silence.

Everything about what had happened to them in the past few weeks suddenly began to whirl again in each of their minds just as crisply as the cold winter breeze that now was beginning to envelop them. Each couple unconsciously huddled a little closer and pulled the extra blanket around them as they did. And still on their backs and glancing upward at the stars, they found themselves whispering between themselves. Each of the pair was so into their personal and quiet conversations, they didn't hear the other couple as they whispered their own...

"So, Tucker, since we've decided to be honest with each other, I've been thinking," Valerie began.

"Yes, honey?" he replied, glancing briefly at her before looking up at the night sky again.

"I just thought you should be the first to know; that now, after everything has happened, I really don't think I can ghost-hunt anymore."

"What?" he said a little too loudly and Danny and Sam looked over at them. Tucker smiled at them and waving sheepishly at them, said, "It's OK, guys!"

Danny and Sam shrugged and went back to their own conversation.

"What do you mean, Valerie?" Tucker then asked his girl, looking right at her.

She then frowned in worry. "Uh, but there's more to it than that. I don't know if I should quit, either. I've, uh, been kinda working for Vlad Masters for a while…But…"

She stopped when she saw Tucker's eyes widen in both surprise and dread at what she had just said. He didn't know!

She threw up her hands in surrender and insisted, "But I swear I didn't know he was evil until the 'Danielle' thing! But ever since then, I've been keeping tabs on _him_."

Tucker sighed a little in relief. But before he could comment, Valerie continued.

"Besides, now, because of everything else, it's just not the same. I don't feel any…hatred toward any ghost anymore. Not that that was a good thing to begin with, you know. It's just that…I guess that all that hating stuff did give me the drive to go after ghosts, uhm, especially Danny. But now, that's all different. Knowing that Danny Phantom is really terrific, and becoming friends with….and caring…for Sarah and Derek, I really don't think I could do it. Besides, there's _you _now, and, uhm, I want to concentrate on our relationship…"

Tucker was silent for a moment, taking it all in. But then, he said, "I understand, Valerie. And if that's what you want, then I can roll with it. But,…." He paused. He didn't want to pressure her with what he kinda wanted, yet he wanted to please her.

"But what?" she prodded before frowning a little. "You said we'd be honest with each other from now on, Tucker."

"Yeah, I know, baby…..," he began. And then, he drew in his lower lip in determination to say what was on his mind. "OK, I'll tell you what I think. I think you should….maybe….think about keeping the Red Huntress in the 'ready' mode, uhm, just in case. You're great at fighting ghosts, and, maybe it would be a good thing to have you as a mole when it comes to Vlad. And, uh, besides, I already talked to Danny, Sam and Jazz about it."

"Huh? And Jazz?" she inadvertently interrupted him, wondering what he was talking about and what Danny's sister had to do with this.

"Yeah, Jazz is in on it, too. Uhm, our team, that is. And we call it _Team Phantom_. And _Team Phantom_ could use someone like you as an ally. After all, you never know…." he replied with a weak smile.

"I don't know, Tucker," she slowly and quietly objected. "I really want to get back to some kind of normal life."

He chuckled a little and she frowned in confusion.

He then explained, "Since _when_ has life in Amity Park been normal? Besides, we both kinda have a…responsibility….to help Danny—and Sam—as much as we can whenever there is a putrid ghost involved. It's the right thing to do. Besides,…."

But she interrupted him once more, "But what about _us_? We won't have any extra time to spend with each other if I agree."

He grew more serious and looking straight into her eyes, he firmly said, "OK, like you said, we need to be more honest. And I have to tell you that _I will_ have to be away from you _a lot_ if it means helping Danny. Not that you're _not_ important to me, because I love you, but I know that I also have something very important to do. And sometimes, that may mean we'll need to be apart…and we have to love and trust each other when that happens…and just bite our lips and bear it."

She stopped, stunned by his words. And she suddenly knew he was right. And she melted at his next words.

"But I don't want you to think about it like that. Just know that I now think our love can be above all that. And just remember that every minute with you is as if time has stopped for me, so I will never waste a second of it whenever we can be together."

"Oh, Tucker," she sighed as she reached for him.

He smiled as he felt her warm hug and then his smile melded into a smirk as he added, "Besides, you still look _very_ hot in that Red Huntress' outfit!"

Meanwhile, Danny and Sam had continued to quietly discuss things right after Tucker's interruption...

"Hey, Sam, I just wanted you to know that I noticed something about you when all of us were talking everything over yesterday."

She had been hoping to avoid the subject, and kept looking up at the star-lit sky. But she failed with her weak objection, "What are you talking about, Danny?"

"Sam!" he gently chided her. "Since when have you _not_ expressed your opinion about important things like this whole thing with Spectra and Sarah and Derek?"

She blushed but then she turned and looked into his eyes. She finally admitted to him in a low voice, "OK, so you noticed. Big deal! I just…I just…."

But he frowned at her with a 'come clean' look.

When she saw that look, she suddenly remembered what she had promised him in his empty room when she had been desperately looking for him.

"OK, Danny, you're right. I, uh, kinda made a promise to you when you weren't there, so I'll come clean. I didn't say anything because I didn't want anyone to think I was crazy. In fact, I'm not sure if _I_ don't think I _am_ crazy about it all, either!"

She paused a moment.

He looked at her in confusion, not catching her drift.

But she didn't need any longer than that moment to think about it. In her heart, she _really did_ trust him beyond her fears and she _just knew_ he would understand—and wouldn't think she was crazy. She continued, "I-I think that my...encounter…with Jiva had some major complications…"

"Yeah, I know that!" he interrupted, misunderstanding her. He thought she was talking, of course, about her telepathic powers. Then why would she be telling him what he already knew?

But then she said, "No, it's not about my, uhm, _our_ telepathic powers. I think,…Danny, I think _I_ was the one who protected you when Valerie tried to waste you in that crater before Spectra captured us. I didn't faint because of the horrible stuff that was happening to you like Tucker thought. I fainted because of all the effort it took me to, uhm, kinda make that force field, and..."

"What?" he exclaimed and this time, Tucker and Valerie looked over at them at his sudden outburst. Danny smiled at them in embarrassment and said, "It's OK, guys!"

Tucker and Valerie smiled back and then went back to their hug.

But Sam didn't let him say anything else at the moment. She hurriedly told him about how she had helped him regain consciousness….and then attack Spectra and Bertrand in the little hidden room…and then, destroy the machine….

She was finally at the hurried end of what she wanted to say. And as she continued, she hadn't noticed that she had scooped both of his hands into hers and was squeezing them with all the intense emotions she was suddenly feeling. "And, I'm sorry, honey, but it all just…happened, and I couldn't help it! But I'm kinda really glad I could help it, because….because I love you with all my heart and I couldn't live anymore if something bad was to happen to you, and I had to watch in horror, not being able to at least try to prevent it! Not that I really wanted this…complication. But, because, you see, you mean everything to me, darling. You always have been, since the first time I saw you, I think. And then…and then, you meant even more than that as time went on. I fell in love with you. I didn't think I could feel this strongly about love, but I do. I thought love was just a fluffy, silly waste of time. But that's because I was afraid…afraid to admit—and share—my feelings with anyone. I didn't think I could ever find someone that special. But I think I always secretly did want someone that special…So…So, I don't think love is that silly, anymore. It's joyful and exciting; painful yet comforting; fearful but, still, hopeful when you trust the one you love. It…gives you, uhm, has given _me_, strength. And I always wanted all that and I want all that with you, darling, because….because, you're that special someone to me...I, uh,…I just…kinda wanted to let you know, you know!"

She stopped, suddenly aware of how hot her face felt against the cold wind and how rapidly she was breathing.

Danny blinked at her, stunned. They had had many serious conversations, true. But this one was far different than the others. She had never talked like this, and never talked _this_ _much_ on something so dear to her heart before. But he was glad that she did. If this was how it might be now, he liked this 'new' Sam.

He gently took her into his arms and whispered, "I feel the same way, too, you know!"

She smiled in relief and pulled him closer and they kissed.

When they parted, she hesitantly asked, "So, you're not upset that I have sorta have these…uh, powers now? Not that they may stay or that I can do all that stuff ever again… So, you're OK with me not being just 'plain ol' me any more?" She suddenly cringed in embarrassment.

"Since when have you been 'plain ol' Sam'?" he softly replied. "I've always thought you were the coolest girl on the planet. And I love you for the 'Sam' you were, the 'Sam' you are, and whatever 'Sam' you'll be in the future. If having these powers is who you are now, then that's totally OK by me! Besides, what I really was gonna say before you said all those great things, is that I think you having some kind of 'superpower' is mega-cool!"

She smiled in relief again and gave him a quick peck.

He then smiled mischievously and added, "Besides, it'll be fun to see someone else going through all those embarrassing moments when I was trying to control my powers!"

"Fun-ny," she deadpanned while shoving him teasingly. But then she softly smiled and added with a sincere hush, "Seriously, thank you, honey. That means everything to me."

Once again, her response surprised him, but he didn't mind. He drew her closer again and they gently kissed.

When they parted once more, he smirked at his girl and said, "By the way, I think I like this **other** 'new' thing about you."

"What 'other new' thing?"

"You know, the 'darlings' and 'honeys' stuff. I really like it! But, _even so_, I want you to know that if you still feel uncomfortable with it, or if sometimes you still are dealing with all those insecurities that all of us teenagers are supposed to have, it'll be all right with me if you don't make yourself say something that you don't feel like saying. I love you just the way you are: the 'old' Sam, the 'new' one, or someone in between. I think I, too, always have!"

She smirked and dryly replied, "Well….glad you gave me an out. I'm still working on it, you know. But I can get used to it… And, by the way, I noticed the _same thing_ about you, and I can get used to that as well…But you better not call me 'sugardoodle' or 'sweetcakes'. I think I might lose it if you do."

Danny rolled his eyes and teased back, "No, of course I won't. I much rather call you 'sugar-dweeb'! Seems more up our alley!"

She lightly smacked him on his shoulder with her faked objection; but she immediately softly smiled after that.

Then, another thought hit Danny. He slowly began, "And, by the way, after all that has happened, I never apologized to you like I should've."

"Apologize? I was the one who had to apologize!" Sam gently interrupted him. "And, now that I'm sorta on a roll with all of this stuff, I'm sorry I didn't trust you enough to tell you all about…things. I, uh, was worried that you might get bored with me since we have our telepathic powers. You know, knowing a lot of stuff about the other might make us more likely to burn out with the other. And there's other stuff I should have trusted you with. Well, it's really too complicated to go into it now."

Danny actually knew what she meant. But he quietly said, "It's OK. Believe it or not, I think I know what you mean! But, really, about our telepathic powers. Isn't that kinda cool, and in a way, comforting to know you have someone who can really connect with you and can understand you? I think that's a real confidence booster. But, really, can we ever totally know each other? Thank goodness we aren't clones of each other! I couldn't handle that! Still, doesn't that kinda make this whole thing exciting?"

She smiled weakly, feeling that he was right.

But then he smiled mischievously and remarked, "Besides, we know we can always turn that thing off or not use it at all, especially when I don't want you to know about anything about my next evil plan to scare you."

"You wish!" she said with her own mischievous smile.

They paused a moment.

But then Danny said, "And, anyways, seriously, I still have to apologize to you! Even before our telepathic powers, we were best friends. And I know you, Sam, and I know that you had told me everything when all that crazy stuff was happening to all of us. I didn't trust you like I should have. Instead of believing your word, believing _you_, I trusted my ghost sense—which we both know had been fooled—and that got us into a lot of trouble."

Sam was silent at first. She was kinda glad for all that trouble. But that didn't mean that he had to ignore his ghost sense—or lack of its being activated in the future. After all, it would have worked if it weren't for that ghost-masking potion.

"But, really, you can do both from now on!" she insisted.

"Thanks for the 'out', too, Sam, but I just want you to know that from now on, I'm going to depend on us—our trust and our love, that is—before I trust anything like my ghost sense."

Sam smiled and gave him a quick peck. "Same here," she quietly whispered, then chuckled in embarrassment, "Uh, I mean the 'trust and love' thing."

They both smiled at the understanding. And they wasted no more time talking. They drew each other closer, just as Tucker and Valerie also held each other tightly.

And each of them forgot the cold, and blended into the stars in the night, as each of them kissed their trueheart.

**THE END**

**A/N: Well, sniff, that's it, ya'll. I sure hope you had as much fun reading this story as I did writing it! I have to say that I didn't mind how it turned out after all. I was all nervous about writing romance all along, but y'all helped boost my confidence with it and I truly thank y'all from the bottom of my heart, too. It took a lot out of me and not sure I could do a romance again…but you never know….And I especially would like to thank pearl84 and Aaron12 again for their priceless betaing help, especially with all the 'lovey-dovey' parts. They are masters at it and I didn't mind being their apprentice. And MOST of all, I would like to thank all you wonderful readers out there for, of course, your wonderful reviews: namely, Nicktendo Squad, crazyvi, DPcrazy, Angelus-alvus, DandNsgirl, Thoughts-of-Nothingness, Smiley-Nami, readerjunkie, and pearl84. Your e-thoughts are like ambrosia to me! Y'all ROCK! And, a quick PM: I hoped you liked this b'day present in the end, NS?**

**And I also thank all you nameless readers and all those who pegged this story as one of your favs, too. I would have loved to e-hear your thoughts, too, but maybe next time. **

**Sorry, feeling a little giddy myself. Must have had some spillover pheromones from Danny…Ahem, but just in case anyone needs a 'translation' on what Danny said up above, here's the rundown:**

**1. "Oh, sure Mom."**

**2. "Why wouldn't I be?"**

**3. "Fine, Dad. We had our own adventure, too, and I can't wait to tell you and Mom and Jazz."**

**4. "But I feel kinda strange, so first, I think, I need to burn up some, uhm, unplanned –and unwanted**—**energy."**

**And in case anyone needs a translation on what Armen and Al said—which by the way is **_**real**_** Croatian—here's that rundown! (And, BTW, I still looked it all up—I still don't know any Croatian!)**

**5. "What do they want? Do you think they're upset?"**

**6. "But, they don't look mad. They look nervous, too! So, let's talk to them, OK? I don't want them to be angry at us anymore, do you? I really want to get over all of this, so I think we need to talk to them, even if they think we're crazy! OK?"**

**7. "I, uhm, **_**we**_** are very sorry for everything that we did to you! Please forgive us, we don't know**—**and can't explain**—**what happened. "**

**8. "Everything... good. They are not angry. OK? Everything OK. OK?"**

**9. "Thank you! Thank you very much! I'm so happy now!"**

**Well, I think the loose ends are neatly tied up! And I case you are still uncertain who the 'true heart' was in this story, it was each of these characters: Danny, Sam, Tucker, Valerie, Sarah, and Derek. Each of them in his or her own way strived to be true to those dear to his or her heart. And with that came growth, of course. **

**I hope you'll join me in my next venture—which is a story co-written by yours truly and my good friend and AWESOME writer, pearl84. It does transgress a little from my 'continuals' because pearl84 and I are, of course, on parallel tracks in the DP world, and had to intersect at some point in order to collaborate on our little adventure. But I hope you'll be pleased with our attempt and join us for "Seeing is **_**dis**_**Believing", which we'll begin posting hopefully soon! And, for your information and with my chagrin, we will be posting under her name only. FF does not allow us to post the same story under two different author's names, even if we're co-authors. Stinks, I know, but I do try to follow the rules. So, look for the story's name by pearl84 and know that I have my evil little fingerprints all over the course of the story!**

**And in the meantime, should we be delayed in posting "Seeing is **_**dis**_**Believing"—after all, pearl84 is a LOT busier than I am—I'll be posting a continuation of a cleverly cute idea began by Nicktendo Squad. She gave me permission to continue with her "DP Bloopers". I simply couldn't help myself! After all this intense and romantic stuff, I need some light-hearted stuff again—even if for a little while. I hope you join me with that adventure as well!**

**Thanks again, and may you one day find—and most importantly, keep—your own special TrueHeart. truephan**


End file.
